Growth in Iowa's Sports Betting Market and Maine's Revenue Trends for Fiscal Year 2024
January 13, 2020 Aleksandra Zolotic
Iowa’s licensed sportsbooks facilities took in a combined $2.9m in sports wagering revenue. The figures report a significant down of 19.3% from November, resulting in the lowest full-month revenue since sports betting was introduced. The state gathered $1.3m in sports betting tax in 2019.
Web-based betting revenue went up 20.5% to $1.8m and sured retail for the first time since sports betting was approved. The mentioned amount came on a handle of $33.5m, which is a decline of 0.6% month-on-month.
In of winnings, the month was rather successful for bettors in the Hawkeye State, as the handle declined only 0.1% month-on-month. On the other hand, retail revenue went down by 48.9% to $1.1m, despite punters wagering $25.8m, which is 0.1% more than in November. Due to the significant revenue drop, the amount the state took in tax was also smaller by 18.1% to $198,872.
From the launch of legal sports betting in the state to the end of 2019…
…players bet a total of $212.2m on sports and sportsbooks took in $19.3m in revenue. The state’s retail revenue came to $10.8m on a handle of $192.9m, while its share from web-based activities totalled $8.5m on a $118.5m handle.
Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino was again the most significant contributor to sports betting revenue, thanks to its online sportsbook offering in partnership with William Hill.
The casino took in $1.3m in revenue…
…on a handle of $19.2m. Analysing a bit deeper, 84.6% of revenue and 92.2% of the handle of the amount came from online bets.
Prairie Meadows also took in the most revenue for the year, at $6.1m, on a handle of $756m. Players wagered $68.3m on the Internet, leading to $5.0m generated online.
The only other establishment to acquire in more than $250,000 in revenue was Isle Casino Hotel in Waterloo. Consumers wagered $5.1m and the venue’s revenue came to $299,643. Similar to Prairie Meadows, the majority of this sum came from a William Hill-powered online product, as consumers placed $4.6m worth of bets via the web making the casino’s online gross receipts came to $260,296.
The most popular facility for retail betting was the Ameristar II Casino in Council Bluffs, which does not have an online offering. Clients wagered $4.4m at the casino, and its sportsbook took in $249,377. Ameristar II took in the second most revenue, at $2.2m, on the second-largest handle, $17.7m, all of which came from retail bets.
Diamond Jo Casino in Worth…
…which also does not operate an online sportsbook, took in the third-most revenue at $1.6m, on a handle of $14.6m. However, punters bet more money at the Isle Casino Hotel at Waterloo, which took in $1.5m despite an $18.8m handle.
Source:
“Iowa records lowest full-month sportsbook revenue in December”, igbnorthamerica.com, January 10, 2020.
Perhaps it takes more time for the activity to become widely accepted. The situation is not quite the best now, but such fluctuations are typical for the initial period. Let’s see what 2020 brings!