Following the boost from the men’s national basketball tournament in March, Iowa sports betting saw a decline in revenue of almost 29% in April, along with a corresponding decrease of over 25% in the handle compared to the previous month.
Gloomy April
March Madness is the perfect remedy to prop up sportsbook numbers after the NFL fades from the betting landscape, but April has no such elixir and it is why sportsbooks all over the country brace for what is normally a down month.
However, the numbers in Iowa were particularly gloomy as sports betting revenue was $14.1 million compared to $19.8 million in March, a whopping 28.8% drop. The handle also took a tumble as March saw $232.6 million in total wagers while April dropped 25.8% to $172.6 million.
DraftKings topped its 17 other competitors in Hawkeye State with $55.8 million in the handle and $5.6 million in revenue.
FanDuel’s handle was second with $41.9 million and $5 million in revenue which means Iowa’s top two sportsbooks are devouring over three-fourths of the revenue. And as the data has demonstrated all across the country, online betting dwarfs in-person betting with over 91% of the wagers coming through the internet or a mobile app.
Iowa Sports Betting Revenue for April 2023
- DraftKings – $5.6 million
- FanDuel – $5 million
- Caesars – $1.5 million
- BetMGM – $1.3 million
- PointsBet – $341,938
- BetRivers – $231,699
In March, Iowa collected $1.29 million in taxes off sports betting profits but that figure was down to $958,605 in April.
Casinos Tumble Too
Brick-and-mortar casinos also experienced a loss but the decrease was not nearly as severe as at the sportsbooks.
March numbers saw the 19 casinos combine for an adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of $159 but that fell to $153 million in May with the Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino supplanting March’s top earner, Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs, as the top earner in April with $21 million in AGR.
Below is the breakdown for Iowa casino numbers in April 2023:
- Slot machine revenue – $137,524,034
- Table game revenue – $15,362,075
- State tax revenue – $30,496,502
Below is the breakdown for Iowa casino numbers in March 2023:
- $143,490,219 – slot machine revenue
- $16,420,090 – table game revenue
- $31,937,713 – state tax revenue
The tax man benefited to the tune of $30,000 in state taxes, $743,000 in city and county taxes, and $1.1 million to the state endowment fund.
Calculators
