The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reported retail sportsbooks in the Hawkeye State took a collective loss of $215,242 in February on Wednesday, likely driven by the Kansas City Chiefs repeating as Super Bowl champions.
The state agency does not parse out specific sports betting numbers for Super Bowl wagering, but these outcomes have been common in Iowa when Kansas City emerges victorious. Each time the Chiefs have lifted the Lombardi Trophy in 2020, 2023, and 2024, the state’s brick-and-mortar venues have finished February in the red when adding up the totals.
With Chiefs Kingdom reaching beyond Kansas‘ borders, sportsbooks had a middling February overall in the Hawkeye State. Operator revenue totaled $13.6 million, up 14.6% from the previous year. Much of that increase can be traced to the 13.8% year-over-year surge in handle to $220.6 million since the 6.2% hold was practically flat versus 2023.
February’s handle dropped 15% compared to January, while revenue plunged 38.3% as the hold for the first month of the year was 2.3 percentage points higher. The state collected $936,700 in taxes, and the $2.4 million collected in the first two months of 2024 is running $559,700 ahead of last year’s pace.
