Sportsbooks are now open for business — legally — in Iowa 94 days after the legislation was signed into law by state’s governor, Kim Reynolds.
The first of these retail sportsbooks opened their doors for business on August 15. Online sports betting were also launched on that very same day. Bettors are obligated to visit a physical casino to sign up for a mobile account. This rule will be in place until 2021, at which point you will be able to create an account online. A pre-registration window was launched for mobile bettors to help alleviate the burden on the first day of the sportsbooks going live.
Iowa has now become the 11th state in the United States to offer legal sports betting, and only the fifth in the country to permit mobile sports betting. Iowa also becomes the first state to launch their mobile sportsbooks on the same day as launching the retail sportsbooks.
Eight casinos have been offering retail sports betting since that fateful day. These are the Ameristar, Catfish Bend, Isle Bettendorf, Isle Waterloo, Lakeside, Prairie Meadows, Rhythm City, and Riverside.
Those with online offerings already open are Isle Bettendorf, Isle Waterloo, Lakeside and Prairie Meadows. All of these online offerings are working alongside William Hill. The other casinos are collaborating with Kambi, PointsBet, and BetWorks. The rest of the online platforms will be open for business when the NFL season kicks off.
Iowa marks the first step into the US sports betting market for BetWorks. They are working alongside theScore to bring a new offering to the flourishing New Jersey market. It is only a matter of time before the likes of DraftKings and FanDuel also penetrate the Iowa market.
Iowa differs from most states as the individual counties decide which kinds of gambling are allowed. This is contrary to the norm where decisions are made on a statewide level.
You will have to be at least 21 years old to place a sports bet in Iowa. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is also in charge of managing the sector. All 19 casinos in the state will be able to offer sports betting. Betting is not allowable on minor league baseball games or high school events.
There are also no bets allowable in-game on individual players from state colleges or universities. Betting on college sports will not be open until May 2020 either.
Sportsbooks benefit from a competitive tax rate of just 6.75%, which is at the moment, one of the lowest in the entire United States. There is a license application fee of $45,000 in place, and there will be a yearly renewal fee for the licenses of $10,000.
