Sports betting revenue down in Iowa

The sports betting market in Iowa suffered a setback in November as revenue declined 36.4% month-on-month.

US.- The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has released the financial results from November, a month in which the market posted a 36.4% month-on-month decline. These results come despite an increase in sports betting handles.

People in the state spent US$59.3 million in sports betting, which represents a 27.6% rise from October. Last month also set a bigger difference between online and retail sports betting. Online sports betting registered US$33.7 million in sports bets, which is a 29.9% increase. However, retail posted a 24.8% decline to US$25.7 million.

Despite the handle results, the state posted a 36.4% decline due to a higher amount paid to customers. The total paid out was US$55.7 million, which translated into US$3.6 million in revenue. The retail vertical accounted for US$2.1 million, while online totalled US$1.5 million.

Sports betting boosts overall gambling

Brian Ohorilko, the administrator for the state regulator, explained that admissions at local casinos are up 4% in the casinos. Table play also rose approximately 7.5% since the legalisation of the market on August 15, southernmiss.com reported.

Wes Ehrecke of the Iowa Gaming Association said: “It’s since August when this started launching that we’ve had some consecutive months that have had increased traffic and admissions and revenue. So you have to assume that sports wagering — the launch of that — has been a contributor to that.”