Iowa Sports Betting Revenue Hits New Heights in Recent Reports

2019 (Partial Year)

• Launch: August 2019
• Handle: $212.2 million
• Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR): $19.3 million
• Tax Revenue: $1.3 million

2020

• Handle: $575.2 million
• GGR: $41.6 million
• Tax Revenue: $2.81 million

2021

• Handle: $2.05 billion
• GGR: $125.5 million
• Tax Revenue: $8.47 million
• Key Change: Online registration was authorized on January 1, leading to a massive spike in user activity.

2022

• Handle: $2.35 billion
• GGR: $165.6 million
• Tax Revenue: $11.17 million

2023

• Handle: $2.42 billion
• GGR: $198.8 million
• Tax Revenue: $13.42 million
• Observation: Handle growth slowed (+3.1%), but higher hold and engagement led to a 20% revenue increase.

2024

• Handle: $2.77 billion
• GGR: $218.5 million
• Tax Revenue: $14.75 million

Iowa set new state records for total handle and revenue. While hold decreased slightly to 8.07%, overall market activity remained strong, driven by sustained bettor interest.

Iowa’s first-quarter performance in 2025 shows resilience and volatility, with March experiencing a notable drop in hold percentage. However, overall, the quarterly GGR surpassed $63.2 million and generated over $4.26 million in tax revenue.

Iowa Sports Betting Revenue – Q1 2025

• May 13, 2019: Governor Kim Reynolds signs SF 617 into law, legalizing sports betting in Iowa. (Iowa Legislature, 2019)
• August 15, 2019: The first legal sports bets are placed in Iowa. (DesMoines Register, 2019)
• January 1, 2021: The in-person registration requirement for mobile betting is lifted, allowing remote sign-ups for users.
• December 31, 2021: Iowans have placed more than $1 billion on sports bets for the first time in a single year. The state earns $11.1 million in tax revenue.
• October 2024: Iowa shows signs of significant growth late in the year. Its monthly handle in October ($294.9 million) is 15.5% higher than 2023. (Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, 2024)
• December 2024: Iowa closes the year with a record-breaking $2.77 billion in handle and over $218 million in GGR, the highest totals since market launch.
• January 2025: Iowa reports a $289.7 million monthly handle and $26.2 million in GGR—marking the state’s third-highest GGR total ever recorded.
• Q1 2025: Combined quarterly handle exceeds $794 million, generating more than $4.26 million in tax revenue. Despite a sharp drop in March’s hold percentage (5.47%), Iowa maintains a stable and maturing market profile.

Since removing its in-person registration requirement in 2021, Iowa’s sports betting market has seen sustained year-over-year growth. The handle increased more than 4.8x from $575.2 million in 2020 to over $2.77 billion in 2024, reflecting the growing trust and engagement among bettors statewide.

Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) also continued its upward trajectory. After climbing 31.9% in 2022 and 20.1% in 2023, the state added another 9.9% increase in 2024, reaching a record-high $218.5 million. This growth was driven by expanded operator promotions, more stable betting volumes across all sports seasons, and improved digital experiences offered by sportsbooks.

Tax revenue from sports wagering has now grown more than 11x since the state’s first reporting year in 2019. Iowa generated $14.75 million in sports betting taxes in 2024, up from just $1.3 million five years earlier. These funds continue to support key state initiatives, including the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund, the Water Infrastructure Quality Fund, and the Iowa Skilled Worker & Job Creation Fund.

Early market entry, favorable regulatory adjustments, and healthy operator competition have positioned Iowa as a stable and reliable model among mid-sized U.S. sports betting states. The Q1 2025 data further confirms this trend, with $794 million in handle and $4.27 million in tax revenue generated in just three months—on pace to exceed previous yearly benchmarks.