Sports betting is legal and widely available in Iowa. Most of the state’s casinos operate a retail sportsbook, and many have launched mobile betting apps allowing customers to wager online from anywhere within the Hawkeye State.
There is one caveat, Iowa sports betting law requires customers to register mobile sportsbook accounts in-person at a casino. The good news is that provision ends on the first day of 2021. Beginning January 1, 2021, anyone 21 and older can register an account and bet online from anywhere in Iowa.
Sports betting isn’t the only form of legal online gambling in Iowa. The state also regulates online horse racing betting and daily fantasy sports. For all three forms of online betting, Iowa law requires operators to hold appropriate licenses and conform to various consumer protection regulations.
Legal Iowa Betting Sites
Note: Iowa law requires customers to visit a casino in-person to register for a mobile account before placing wagers online. This provision will expire on January 1, 2021.
Fantasy Sports Sites:
Legal Horse Betting Sites in Iowa:
Iowa Sports Betting
Iowa legalized sports betting in 2019 with the passage of SF 617. Under state law, each Iowa casino that holds a sports betting license may operate a retail sportsbook on casino property and up to two individual mobile betting platforms, also known as “skins.”
Nearly all of Iowa’s casinos now operate retail sportsbooks, and most offer online betting to customers across the state.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) is responsible for overseeing sports betting. Those duties include issuing licenses and ensuring compliance with all applicable regulations.
Here’s what readers need to know about Iowa sports betting:
- Customers must be 21 or older to bet on sports in Iowa
- Online and mobile betting is permitted
- Customers must visit a local casino to complete registration for mobile betting accounts
- In-person registration is required until January 1, 2021; after that, customers may sign up and place bets from anywhere in Iowa
- Wagering on pro and college sports is permitted, but in-play prop bets on Iowa college games are prohibited
Mobile Sports Betting in Iowa
Mobile sports betting is legal and regulated in Iowa. Customers must be 21 or older and do not need to be residents to participate. However, online wagers are only authorized within state lines.
In-person registration is required before placing wagers online. This means customers must visit the casino partnered with the mobile betting provider in order to activate their online betting accounts. This provision expires on January 1, 2021. After that date, players may sign up and bet online from anywhere in Iowa.
Each casino may launch up to two separate online betting platforms in partnership with licensed third-party providers such as FanDuel and DraftKings. Each platform may also include a mobile betting app.
The following table displays a list of mobile sportsbooks that have either already launched or that will launch soon, along with a list of properties customers may visit to sign up for an account.
| Betting Site | Is it live? | Where to Register |
| William Hill Mobile | Yes |
|
| Elite Sportsbook | Yes |
|
| FanDuel Mobile | Yes |
|
| PointsBet Mobile | Yes |
|
| Bet Rivers | No |
|
| DraftKings Mobile | Yes |
|
| Hard Rock Online | Yes |
|
| Q Sportsbook | Yes |
|
| Betfred Sportsbook | Yes |
|
| Unibet Sportsbook | No |
|
Barstool Sportsbook is also likely to enter Iowa at some point but has not officially announced a partner or plans. However, Barstool Sportsbook is partnered with Penn National Gaming, which operates Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs.
Retail Sportsbook Locations
Sports betting began in Iowa in August 2019 with the launch of seven sportsbooks at casinos across the state on a single day.
All but one of Iowa’s 19 commercial casinos operate retail sportsbooks. Casino Queen Marquette remains the only casino without a sportsbook today, but it does hold a sports betting license.
- The Sportsbook at Ameristar Council Bluffs
- PointsBet Sportsbook at Catfish Bend Casino
- FanDuel Sportsbook at Diamond Jo Dubuque
- FanDuel Sportsbook at Diamond Jo Worth
- Betfred Sports at Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort
- Hard Rock Sportsbook at Hard Rock Casino Sioux City
- William Hill Sportsbook at Harrah’s Council Bluffs
- William Hill Sportsbook at Horseshoe Council Bluffs
- William Hill Sportsbook at Isle Casino Waterloo
- William Hill Sportsbook at Isle Casino Bettendorf
- William Hill Sportsbook at Lakeside Hotel Casino
- William Hill Sportsbook at Prairie Meadows
- Q Sportsbook at Q Casino
- Elite Sportsbook at Rhythm City Casino
- Elite Sportsbook at Riverside Casino
- DraftKings Sportsbook at Wild Rose Clinton
- DraftKings Sportsbook at Wild Rose Emmetsburg
- DraftKings Sportsbook at Wild Rose Jefferson
Iowa Sports Betting Law
IA Code § 99F lays the foundation for legal sports betting in Iowa, while additional regulations crafted by the IRGC fill in the details to establish a well-regulated industry.
Key Sports Betting Regulations
- Retail sportsbooks and mobile betting authorized
- Customers must visit a casino to register in-person for mobile betting; this requirement ends after January 1, 2021
- Minimum age to bet on sports: 21
- Each casino may operate up to two independently branded betting sites/apps
- Casinos pay a $45,000 sports betting licensing fee and $10,000 per year after that
- Sports betting operators to pay 6.75% tax
- Wagers allowed on pro and college sports but not on esports
- In-play prop bets not allowed on games involving Iowa colleges
How Iowa Legalized Sports Betting
In December of 2017, the Iowa Gaming Association (IGA) announced plans to begin crafting sports betting legislation on the chance that the federal prohibition of sports betting would be repealed. This plan came about during New Jersey’s Supreme Court case to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
The Supreme Court did end up striking down PASPA, and that cleared the way for lawmakers to act. After one failed attempt to legalize sports betting in 2018, lawmakers moved again in 2019 to pass legislation that would bring in-person and online betting to Iowa.
The 2018 effort began with House Study Bill 592 seeking to legalize and regulate sports betting. If passed, HSB 592 would have legalized wagering on professional and college sports at local casinos, racetracks, and via licensed online sports betting sites. That bill never made it through the legislative process, but it set the stage for more legislation to come the following year.
In 2019, lawmakers introduced SF 617 to legalize retail sportsbooks and allow local casinos to apply for mobile sports betting licenses. The bill sought to allow each casino to operate up to two separate betting sites, accept wagers on pro and college sports, and legalize daily fantasy sports.
The Iowa House and Senate both approved the bill to send it to the desk of Governor Kim Reynolds. Governor Reynolds signed the bill in May 2019, officially legalizing sports betting in Iowa. The first sportsbooks and betting apps went live just a few months later.
Horse Racing Betting in Iowa
In-person and online racing betting are legal in Iowa through licensed ADW providers (mobile betting sites). The state is home to one thoroughbred racetrack and one greyhound track. Both venues host live racing most of the year.
Horse racing and parimutuel wagering are regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC), which oversees the casino industry, sports betting, and fantasy sports. Iowa Code Chapter 99D establishes the rules for parimutuel wagering while Iowa Code Chapter 99F deals with gambling at casinos and racetracks.
Mobile Horse Racing Betting in Iowa
The IRGC approved advance deposit wagering in 2011 to officially legalize mobile racing betting in Iowa. Most of the major horse racing betting sites are now active in Iowa and accept wagers on races held in Iowa and elsewhere. Under Iowa law, customers must be 21 or older to bet on races online.
Chapter 99D.11 of the state code provides additional guidance and specifies operators be licensed in Iowa. This bit of legislation has been the source of controversy as it seems to indicate all ADW providers must have an agreement in place with Prairie Meadows Racetrack and the Iowa Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (Iowa HBPA) in order to receive an online betting license.
However, the HBPA has long complained that out-of-state ADW providers have long offered their services in Iowa without authorization. For years, the HBPA has urged the IRGC to take action against such operators. To date, neither the IRGC nor the Attorney General has acted against those operators.
Iowa Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) are now legal in Iowa. The state was one of the last few holdouts that prohibited DFS sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings up until 2019. The law authorizing traditional sports betting also included language also legalizing daily fantasy contests.
At one point, it was estimated 1 in 10 Iowans participated in fantasy leagues prior to the passage of the 2019 law. The fantasy sports prohibition in Iowa was surprising, as opposition to the activity was never very strong. Rather, the biggest problem in Iowa was longstanding state laws that define gambling as just about anything involving money and even a hint of chance.
With those factors in mind, it made more sense to regulate and tax the industry rather than continue to fight a losing battle. Fantasy sports associations also pushed for years to get fantasy sports legalized and have finally seen their efforts pay off now that the state licenses and regulates DFS sites. DraftKings was the first to successfully apply for a DFS license and launched for Iowa residents in October 2019.
The Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission (IRGC) is responsible for overseeing traditional sports betting and daily fantasy sports. DFS operators are now required to apply for a license from the IRGC and pay $5,000 upon successful licensure. The law has also established a 6.75% tax payable by operators.
Fantasy sites are also required to implement reasonable standards for safety and fairness, such as preventing athletes from participating in DFS contests, keeping customer funds in a segregated account for safekeeping, and ensuring all customers are at least 21 years old.
Online Gambling in Iowa
Online casinos and poker are illegal in Iowa.
IA Code § 725.7 provides a wide-ranging definition of illegal gambling that covers all forms of online gaming not expressly authorized by the state:
1. Except as permitted in chapters 99B and 99D, a person shall not do any of the following:
a. Participate in a game for any sum of money or other property of any value.
b. Make any bet.
c. For a fee, directly or indirectly, give or accept anything of value to be wagered or to be transmitted or delivered for a wager to be placed within or without the state of Iowa.
d. For a fee, deliver anything of value which has been received outside the enclosure of a racetrack licensed under chapter 99D to be placed as wagers in the pari-mutuel pool or other authorized systems of wagering.
e. Engage in bookmaking, except as permitted in chapters 99E and 99F.
The expansive nature of Iowa’s stance on illegal gambling is partially why even fantasy sports sites refused to operate in Iowa until legislation specifically authorizing DFS was passed. Similarly, online gambling is clearly prohibited, both for operators and players.
The state saw two attempts to legalize online poker in 2012 and 2014, but both failed to advance. Lawmakers have never seriously considered legalizing online casinos in Iowa.
Iowa Senate File 2275 was proposed in 2012 as a means to license additional land-based casinos and internet poker. If passed, the bill would have included a bad actor clause (sites that previously accepted wagers in the US contrary to the UIGEA would not be eligible for licensing). It would have opened Iowa to sharing player pools with other states.
Senate File 2275 never made it into law and was eventually replaced with Senate Study Bill 1068 in 2013. SSB 1068 had much in common with SF 2275, including a bad actor clause and licensing criteria for operators. SSB 1068 died in committee a month after its introduction.
Over the intervening years, Iowa lawmakers have taken no further action to legalize online gambling. There appears to be no desire among the legislature to authorize online gambling at this time.
Legal Election Betting with Iowa Electronic Markets
Iowa is home to the only legal election betting website, Iowa Electronic Markets (IEM).
IEM is run by the University of Iowa’s Henry B. Tippie College of Business and allows politically minded people from around the world to wager on the outcomes of real-world events, particularly US elections.
The IEM website explains the basic idea in simple terms:
The Iowa Electronic Markets is a futures market run for research and teaching purposes. Traders can buy and sell real-money contracts based on their belief about the outcome of an election or other event. Using this “wisdom of crowds,” the price of a contract at any given time is a forecast of the outcome.
