Iowa sportsbooks post $111 million in June

Iowa’s pace of sports wagering dropped for the third consecutive month in June, even as revenue jumped and the pace of betting per day held firm. The mostly positive month closed the book on a fiscal year that brought dramatic growth and more than $1.2 billion in wagers in spite of a pandemic and in-person registration requirements that slowed betting for much of 2020, according to analysts from PlayIA.

“The year brought significant challenges to Iowa’s sportsbooks, which made the results all the more impressive,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIA.com. “The best news is that with the pandemic’s effects on the industry waning, and online registration firmly in place, the last year is only a glimpse of Iowa’s true potential.”

Iowa’s online and retail sportsbooks accepted $111.2 million in June, according to official data released late Thursday. That is down 3.2% from $114.9 million in May. The pace of betting remained $3.7 million per day over the 30 days of June, matching the $3.7 million per day over the 31 days in May.

Net operator revenue rose to $8.4 million in June, up 37.4% from $6.1 million in May. June’s handle resulted in $568,501 in tax revenue.