Iowa hit sports betting record despite casino drop

The past September sets new sports betting record fueled by COVID-19

Following similar results in various other states, Iowa reached their most impressive sports betting record to date this September. Two factors were at play here, Covid-19 naturally, which caused sports fans and the rest of the population to be stuck inside their homes or on their phones to play online, and seeing all four major US sports playing simultaneously while introducing the NCAA College Football season.

Betting on college and professional football, along with Major League Baseball, NHL and NBA playoffs, NASCAR, soccer, and horse racing helped September upsurge to almost $72.4 million. That established a monthly record for gambling activity, taking down the August 2019 record.

October is also expected to be a continuation of this with Big Ten football still in play. It is calculated that regarding the first quarter of next year, Iowans will have bet $145.6M in sports with $135.2M winnings, generating $10.4M in net receipts.

Naturally in Iowa casinos, attendance dropped by quite a bit onsite, but to fight those stats, the casinos are trying hard to find patrons with options that reduced contact in cash-exchange for instance.