Iowa debuted sports betting August 15, 2019. Since then, bettors wagered over $400 million, with $30 million in revenue going to 19 casinos hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s difficult to gauge what expectations could or should have been when we had an unprecedented year like we had,” said Wes Ehrecke, spokesman for the Iowa Gaming Association, an umbrella group for the state-licensed casinos.
Brian Ohorilko, administrator for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, said overall he believed Iowa’s casino operators were pleased with how the added amenity performed.
“I think most of the operators were happy. I don’t think anyone who was close to the industry expected significant numbers. I think the goal all along was to have another profit center that was popular to customers and maybe would attract some new customers.”
Legislative fiscal experts had projected sports wagering would generate up to $1.8 million in state tax revenue and possibly up to nearly $560 million in wagering activity, according to The Courier.
Max Bichsel, an executive with Gambling.com Group, said the requirement that patrons had to establish an account at a casino for the first 18 months contributed somewhat to the negative returns. After the one in-person visit, bettors can wager with an online app.
“I think the prospects for 2021 is that things should open up fairly significantly,” Bichsel said. “You’ll have more operators enter the market in Iowa and for customers it will be easier for them to wager on sports.”
Some eight new sportsbook companies have applied to be licensed in Iowa. Casinos can operate two branded websites per location, and up to three if the commission approves.
“I think it’s an unfortunate time as far as we don’t have an accurate reading on what the demand will be because you don’t have the normal level of sports out there. But you also don’t have to have people that have to go inside a casino if they don’t want to,” said State Senator Roby Smith.
While not a complete year due to Covid-19 “it’s still getting itself established and it will continue to improve once we get beyond this pandemic,” Ehrecke said.
