New records for Iowa sportsbook in March

Iowa sportsbooks, which capitalized on the popularity of March Madness, registered $161.4 million in wagering according to official data released by PlayIA.com, which tops the record $149.5 million handle in January, and is up 8% from $143.6 million in wagers in February.

The heavy action helped Iowa set records for per-day betting average and revenue, too. Per-day betting hit $5.2 million in the 31 days of March, which was up from the record $5.1 million bet per day during the 28 days of February. "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 main catalyst for Iowa's growth over the first quarter of 2021 has been the removal of in-person registration requirements for online betting in January. Online betting captured $139.4 million in bets, or 86.3% of the state's overall handle, in March. Compare that to December, the last month of in-person registration when 74.4% of a much smaller overall handle came from online bets. "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. "Obviously the key reason for that is that registration is easier than it was last year, and that has opened the door to new customers across the state. Those customers have responded enthusiastically, and the success of Iowa and Drake this season gave Iowans added incentive to engage with a sportsbook", he added.

William Hill, which partners in Iowa with Prairie Meadows, Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs, Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo, Isle of Capri Bettendorf, Lakeside, and Harrah's Council Bluffs, narrowly led the market with $49.5 million in retail and online handle, which included $43 million in online wagers in March. The British bookmaker is closely followed by the two largest sportsbooks in the country: DraftKings and FanDuel.