The sports betting market went live in Iowa in August 2019. The sports betting market has grown slowly but surely in the state.
It now appear that the sports betting market in Iowa will get a big boost due to the state government making things more flexible for both betting operators and sports bettors.
This is thanks to the removal of one of the state’s requirements earlier mandatory requirements. Iowa’s athletic gambling law requires bettors to register for betting accounts in person.
This made it an inconvenience for a number of gamblers who did not like to drive to a retail sportsbook, stand in line and register.
All that is set to change in in 2021 as Iowa no longer requires in-person registration.
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The in-person registration requirement has been lifted based on the data collected during the last year from the sports betting market in the state. Iowa raked in $368 million in wagers from its first year of operation and generated around $25 million in revenue. Iowa sportsbooks have already earned more than $27 million in revenue in just the first five months of the second year.
What is important to note though is that a huge part of this $27 million comes from online betting. An estimated $13.8 million is from online bettors, as the online betting market was boosted by the COVID-19 lockdown. Iowa decided that it was in the best interests of the sports betting market to remove the in-person requirement. Market analysts believe that move will further boost sports betting revenues in Iowa.
Currently, the state has eight sports betting operators licensed to operate mobile betting apps. The state’s Racing and Gaming Commission thinks that more betting operators will be coming in because the state has just made it easier to bet. The projection is that it will grow to 20 licensed operators and many interested operators are already showing an interest.
Also, the state is seeing an increase in new agreements between Iowa’s casinos and online betting companies about partnerships that will allow them to operate their online betting sites. Most of them have permission to have two online betting sites but a lot of them are not using the privilege yet.
The original in-person registration requirement was originally met with opposition. US Betting operators felt that it would hinder players from signing up and lead to lower revenues. However, legislators felt it was the best move at the time due to security purposes. However, the COVID-19 crisis and the stats have caused state legislators to have a change of heart.
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