Iowa is becoming a very competitive gaming state as more operators continue to launch. Barstool Sportsbook, operated by Penn National, was the latest platform to go live in the state. The book became Iowa’s 16th digital sportsbook, and it’s expected to be very competitive because of the popularity of the media team.
Dave Portnoy and his collection of media personalities have helped Barstool Sportsbook grow to insurmountable heights in a very short period. The Iowa expansion is the next step for the sportsbook to become competitive with industry conglomerates like DraftKings and FanDuel.
Barstool Joins Surging Iowa Market
Iowa is the tenth state where Barstool Sportsbook has mobile bearings. The Midwest has been a target for Penn National’s sportsbook, and it started with Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. Barstool followed Circa Sportsbook in the state, which launched four weeks ago.
Iowa had an in-person registration mandate in effect last year. It expired at the beginning of 2021, allowing the state to post massive betting handles. In September, the monthly record was reached at $210.4 million.
The Hawkeye State has been consistent since sports betting went live. It became the eighth state to surpass $2 billion in all-time betting handle following the month of October, according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
Over $1.2 billion in bets have been placed since the in-person registration mandate was removed. Mobile wagers have also risen dramatically, going from 70.4% to 86.6% from 2020 to 2021.
Barstool launched through a partnership with the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs. The retail sportsbook at Ameristar belongs to theScore, and it’s a very popular location. Ameristar will promote the Barstool mobile betting app throughout the casino.
Barstool and theScore have close ties as well, which makes the relationship with Ameristar perfect. Penn National acquired theScore Bet for $2 billion earlier this year. The book launched in February and has made $650,000 in revenue since going live.
September was the book’s best month with a $2.3 million handle and over $200,000 in revenue. This growth was seen from most books during the month because of the beginning of football season.
Can Penn National Win Iowa?
The Iowa market is very strong, but Barstool is expected to be a strong betting app in the state. The platform has been top ten in handle in numerous competitive states with a lot of operators. In Indiana, the book has been fifth in handle over the past three months.
It collected over $16 million in wagers in September and $42.2 million since going live in May. This is just under a 5% share of Indian’s total market.
If Barstool could duplicate these numbers in Iowa, it would be very impressive. The media company has been heavily promoting the launch, which should help spark an interest in the sportsbook.
The main competitors in the state are currently Caesars and DraftKings. These two took 70.4% of the market share in September. FanDuel and BetMGM followed these conglomerates. Barstool should fit in with these two books fairly early after finding a groove in the state.
