The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) released the state’s gaming revenue for July 2023. It was about $150 million, which is actually 4% less than what they made last year, but it’s actually good news in some respects.
The gaming revenue figures encompass both the state’s 19 brick-and-mortar casinos and Iowa gambling sites, covering a range of games such as slots and table games. Diving into the details, table games brought in more than $14 million, and slot machines raked in nearly $136 million.
So, what’s so good about losing 4% year-over-year? The decrease is not significant, which shows the numbers are consistent. The number of people visiting was pretty stable, too, and admissions were only down less than 2% from July 2022.
Another thing that stands out is the fees casinos paid to the state and local governments. They paid nearly $25 million in July, which is about $2 million less than last year, or around a 7% decrease.
Top Casino Earners
According to the reports, people won an average of $305 from slot machines and $1,040 from tables.
Big earners for the month were Horseshoe Casino Council Bluff with $17.1 million and Ameristar II with $15.5 million. Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino was at the top of the list, earning nearly $21 million.
Fantasy Sports Down Nearly 30%
Iowa’s fantasy sports figures were down 28% in July 2023 when compared to last year. DraftKings and FanDuel together made a little more than $58,000, but you can give DraftKings more of the credit. They brought in $49,796, while FanDuel only generated $8,337.
There were also fewer games to join as well. DraftKings had 18,052 fewer events, with a total of 102,868. FanDuel had 689 fewer than last year, rounding out at 2,903.
Sports Betting Numbers Up and Down
Although fantasy numbers took a hit, there is some hope buried in Iowa sports betting numbers. Nearly $110 million worth of bets were made. That’s nearly 8% lower than June 2023’s $119.1 million. But on the bright side, it’s slightly more than what we saw in July 2022, which was $108.6 million and adds up to a 1% increase from last year.
Online Sports Betting Is Big in Iowa
Of that $109 million, more than $101 million came from online betting.
DraftKings saw the most action in July, recording more than $37 million in wagers. FanDuel came in second at just under $25 million while Caesars Sportsbook saw its monthly handle basically unchanged with over $15 million in wagers, emerging as the third book in the state to accumulate more than $10 million in bets.
Here’s the full breakdown of online sports betting operators. The top five for Iowa in July 2023 were as follows:
But they didn't keep as much of it - they lost about $600,000, which is 5.4% less than last year.
There is a silver lining though. Sports betting operators in the Hawkeye state think they might see the numbers going up sooner than later since college football and the new NFL season are just around the corner.
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