That was fast.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has reported that retail and online/mobile sportsbooks took $46.50 mm in wagers last month, about half of the $91.69 mm in wagers last month in Indiana.
In September, Iowa books handled $38.52 mm, more than Indiana’s $35.21 mm.
The Hawkeye State began both online/mobile and retail wagering in mid-August, while Indiana kicked off retail on Sept. 1, with online/mobile beginning on Oct. 3. Seven Iowa casinos reported their online/mobile handle, according to the state agency. The Hoosier State had three casinos reporting online/mobile in October. More internet books are expected to launch in Indiana in the coming months.
Mobile vs. Mobile
Iowa’s online/mobile handle was $25.92 mm last month, compared to $48.01 mm for Indiana.
The Iowa leader was Prairie Meadows/William Hill with $16.29 mm of the statewide online betting handle. In Indiana, Draftkings had $39.73 mm of the industry handle.
Remember that in-person online/mobile sportsbook registration requirement in Iowa?
Iowa online/mobile handle in October was 18.9% more than September’s online/mobile handle. But the registration requirement appears to be constricting the market to some extent. It will be informative to see what kind of online/mobile handle growth Indiana, which allows registration through online verification checks to use any licensed book in the state, has in November.
In Pennsylvania, online/mobile handle grew more than 100% from the first full month to the second full month.
Midwest sports betting
Iowa and Indiana are good states to compare given their location. Indiana does have more than double the population, so to some extent it is an apples-to-oranges comparison.
Sports betting is rather limited in the U.S. Midwest, as Iowa and Indiana are enjoying relative regional exclusivity on legal sports gambling.
Both markets have been successful out of the gate, but early figures do indicate that Iowa could have a more robust market right now without the in-person requirement, which will sunset in January 2021.
Until then, we expect Indiana to continue pulling away from Iowa’s market.