Iowa Sees Expected March Sports Betting Surge

February was a down month for the entirety of the US sports betting scene, but a bounce back was widely expected in March. The first sign of that trend coming to fruition is Iowa, which just reported out on their March sports betting handle.

Buoyed by robust betting on the NCAA Basketball Tournament in which their beloved Iowa Hawkeyes made it into the second round, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is reporting record sports betting numbers for the state. Iowa's sportsbooks continue to operate at an impressive clip and despite a relatively small population, they continue to stay in the conversation as one of the more reliable markets in the country.

March toward the Record

Iowa sportsbooks were able to generate $161.4 million in March, up 12.4% from February’s total of $143.6 million and nearly $12 million more than the previous monthly record of $149.5 million posted in January. March's total represents the sixth time in the last seven months that Iowa has posted a handle-record.

Revenues also posted a nice March rebound. Sportsbooks made $13.5 million in March, good for a healthy 8.3% hold. It is an impressive 74.5% increase from the $7.7 million they made during February's down month and over $2 million more than their pervious record if $11.3 million posted in January.

$908,009 in taxes was collected of sportsbook profits for tapped-out state and local coffers, a dramatic increase from the $520,444 made in February.

A peek at Iowa's year-over-year totals is even more striking. March 2021's $161.4 million handle is an astounding 724.6% higher than the $19.6 million Iowa's sportsbooks took in during March 2020. Year-over-year revenues climbed 946.8% from March 2020's $1.2 million to last month's $7.7 million. March 2020 represented the first full month of total sports shutdowns and casino limitations, for what that's worth.

Mobile Continues to Drive Overall Handle

Mobile betting continued to be the biggest driver of the Iowa legal sports betting scene. It is no coincidence, since Iowa switched to a remote registration process in January from their previous antiquated in-person only sign-up requirement.

“Three months after removing the in-person registration requirements, Iowa has set new highs in wagering per day in each month, even bucking a national trend of declining bets in February,” said Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayIA.com.

Iowa's mobile sportsbooks were responsible for $139.4 million of the $161.4 million of the total handle, or 86.3% in March. That is an 11.3% increase from February's $125.2 million internet wagering take. Year-over-year, Iowa's mobile handle grew 946.8% from March 2020’s $13.3 million. Iowa's retail sports betting sector contributed $22 million to March’s overall handle.

Per-Day Wagering

The NCAA Basketball tournament helped the state of Iowa set a new record in terms of per-day wagering. Iowa hit $5.2 million per day in wagers, besting a previous record of $5.1 million, which came in February. It means that bettors were engaged all month long and took full advantage of all wagering opportunities.

“Iowa was one of the few legal sports betting jurisdictions to actually improve per-day betting in February, so it is no surprise that sportsbooks set new highs in March,” said Jessica Welman, an analyst for PlayIA.com. “With new operators coming online and the in-person registration requirement long gone, the Hawkeye State is well-positioned ahead of the inevitable summer slowdown.”

The Road Ahead

With March Madness in the books and the NFL season a distant memory, Iowa sportsbooks may have a tough time duplicating the record handles that they have been experiencing the last six months. The Masters, the new MLB season and the winding down of the NBA and NHL seasons should be enough to at least keep the platform afloat however.

New sportsbooks are lining up to take advantage of Iowa’s impressive sports betting scene and Iowa’s new rule allowing current sportsbooks to add a third skin should prop up the market. It all adds up to the Iowa sports betting scene being as healthy as any in the nation right now, with no reason to think any sort of drop-off is imminent anytime soon.