Iowa sports betting has continued to shine as a multi-billion dollar industry despite the absence of a “Big Four” sports franchise located within the state borders. In 2023, the state’s bookmakers reported $2.42B in sports betting handle, a 3% increase over 2022’s numbers.
While the majority of this revenue comes from online betting platforms and mobile sports betting apps, in-person sports betting remains a popular way to gamble. In this piece, we’ll take a look at the in-person sports betting locations in Iowa, as well as the key characteristics of these facilities.
List of all retail sportsbooks in Iowa
Throughout this piece, we will use “retail sportsbooks” to refer to in-person sports betting locations. While the technical definition of a retail sportsbook involves the owner of the facility also owning the sportsbook, this term has become somewhat muddled in betting jargon, so we’ve included all of the in-person gambling facilities for convenience and clarity.
Here are all 21 retail sportsbooks in Iowa.
What kind of sports betting locations exist in Iowa?
There are kinds of sports betting locations that exist in Iowa: Casinos, Racetracks, and Riverboats. Here is a brief overview of each type.
Casinos
Casinos are one of the main ways sportsbooks enter a state and the partnership eases the process of requiring a gambling operator’s license. You’ll notice the majority of the above sportsbooks are at casinos for this reason.
While some states limit their sports betting operations to only operate at tribal casinos, this is no longer the case in Iowa. Blackbird Bend became the first tribal casino to offer sports betting with a February 2023 launch.
Racetracks
Another common “in” for sportsbooks is by partnering with a horse racing facility. This is an excellent way for the racetracks to expand revenues when bad weather or extreme temperatures can delay racing, or to allow bettors to make wagers between races.
Several racetracks also operate as “racinos'' to allow for casino gaming in addition to horse race betting operations. Implementing sports betting at these sites was a natural decision that has thus far been a major success.
Riverboats
Riverboat gaming operations are in steady decline in Iowa, with only two such gambling venues still available. The Ameristar Hotel is the only remaining after Casino Queen Marquette announced plans to move ashore and is targeting a late 2024 opening for its brick-and-mortar location.
