The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has reported a slow start to FY24 with a fall in total IA sports betting handle and revenue.

Total handle for July 2023 was $109.7 million, a decrease month-over-month of 7.9% to June 2023’s $119.1 million. It was, however, a small increase year-over-year, usurping July 2022’s total reported handle of $108.6 million.

Digital channel shift continued, albeit slowly, with handle mix continuing to move digitally. In July 2022, 90.6% of wagers were placed through mobile or online, rising to 92.3% in July 2023. It was also a slight increase on June 2023 which reported a 91.7% digital handle mix.

A reflection on above can be seen in raw handle figures, with retail player spending down 15.2% month-over-month from June 2022. Iowa bettors wagered a total of $8.4 million in July 2023, down from $9.9 million the month prior.

In percentage terms, online spend also decreased 7.3% month-over-month, but increased 3.0% year-over-year.

Taxable revenue figures looked slightly better for the Hawkeye State. Taxable revenue was still down month-over-month, with $10.6 million recorded for July 2023, down 0.9% from $10.7 million the month prior. It was a 5.36% decrease on July 2022’s revenue, however.

Hold percentages for the month were 9.7% overall, 6.0% for retail and 10.0% for online sports betting. The figures for the entirety of Fiscal Year 2023 were: 8.3% overall, 9.6% for retail and 8.2% for online.

Iowa also reports a breakdown of online sports betting operators. The top five for Iowa in July 2023 were as follows:

  • FanDuel: $3.2 million revenue from $25.0 million handle with a 12.8% hold
  • DraftKings: $3.1 million revenue from $37.4 million handle with a 8.3% hold
  • Caesars: $1.2 million revenue from $15.4 million handle with a 7.8% hold
  • BetMGM: $0.9 million revenue from $8.4 million handle with a 10.7% hold
  • Bet365: $0.7 million revenue from $6.0 million handle with a 11.7% margin

DraftKings held the highest market share by handle but took lower revenue than FanDuel. With the recent announcement of ESPN Bet, PENN x Barstool took just $0.2 million revenue from $2.2 million handle. Given the brand’s lofty aspirations to compete with the big players the starting point leaves a lot to be desired.