Best Iowa Gambling Sites

Iowa online sports betting is now a reality. In May 2019, the Iowa sports betting bill was approved, with retail and online sports betting going live in the Hawkeye State in August of the same year.

In August 2019, Iowa became the 11th state in the country to make sports betting legal. Since then, the Iowa sports betting market has gone from strength to strength, with Iowa sports bettors having more choices than ever before. Additionally, sports betting revenue has continued to increase as the market has grown in the state, as everybody looks to take advantage of the decision to legalize sports betting.

Sports betting in Iowa is overseen by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Iowa became the first state in the upper Midwest to permit legal sports betting, with land-based and mobile options available to residents throughout the state. There are now some excellent IA sports betting apps available, each offering a generous welcome bonus and unique types of wagers.

Iowa Online Sportsbooks

Every Iowa casino is permitted to host two skins on its sports betting license. Any sportsbook that launches in the state must have a casino partner. Players must visit Iowa sports betting casinos that are partnered with the below operators to complete their account registration. Some of the online sportsbook options available in Iowa State include:

Elite Sportsbook Iowa

Elite was the second Iowa sports betting app to launch in the state in August 2019 and is also the second-most successful in total handle so far. This site is powered by the Bet.Works tech platform. Players can visit one of three casino partners to register for the app: The Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood, Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, or City Casino in Davenport. The Elite Sports betting platform has not been as popular as some larger operators such as DraftKings, but it still has some decent Elite sports promotions.

Q Sportsbook Iowa

Q Sportsbook was the third operator to take legal online sports bets in Iowa, going live in November 2019. It has a partnership with IGT, and bettors must register for the platform at the .casino in Dubuque through 2021.

Hard Rock Sioux City Sportsbook Iowa

Hard Rock has a presence in Iowa through its Sioux City location. It was the fifth mobile app to launch in Iowa and is operated by  Gaming Innovation Group (GIG).

William Hill Sportsbook IA

William Hill is a massive name in the gambling industry, globally. The brand was the first to launch its sports betting app in Iowa, setting the pace for total handle for online betting in the state. To register for a William Hill account, bettors can visit one of the four partner casinos, including Lakeside Casino, Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino, Isle Casino Bettendorf, and Isle Casino Waterloo.

DraftKings Sportsbook IA

DraftKings is well-known for its daily fantasy sports competitions and launched an Iowa DFS app in October 2019. The company launched its fully-fledged sports betting app in the state in February 2020 in partnership with Wild Rose Casino. To verify your DraftKings sportsbook account, you must visit one of three Wild Rose Casinos in the state (Clinton, Emmetsburg, or Jefferson). DraftKings Iowa online sportsbook has proved to be the most popular online sports wagering platform in the state.

FanDuel Iowa Sportsbook

FanDuel Sportsbook Iowa has finally launched a mobile app, but they do have a presence at the Diamond Jo Casino. Players can visit the property and take part in some diamond betting action.

BetMGM Iowa

The BetMGM Iowa sportsbook went live at the start of 2021. The operator is partnered with Diamond Jo Casino, but unlike other operators, waited until remote registration was available in IA before going live. The BetMGM mobile app, available on Android and iOS (iPhone & iPad) is now one of the most popular sports betting apps in the state.

Iowa sports betting apps

Mobile sports betting is very quickly becoming the bettor’s preferred way of placing a wager. It is so easy to bet on your mobile, and now that you can register and bet on your mobile in IA, mobile betting will grow in popularity. There are over 8 Iowa sports betting apps now available to residents and visitors to the state.

Joining an IA sports betting site is very easy on your mobile. Just head to any of the operators listed above and press join. It takes around 5 minutes in total to open and validate an account. Once that is done, you can fund your account, then get your bets down. Using a sports betting app in IA lets you wager on all your favorite sports including football, soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, and many more, anywhere you can use your smartphone.

What is the Legal Gambling Age in Iowa?

Like most US states, you must be at least 21 years old to gamble in Iowa legally.

List of Sports to bet on in Iowa

All of the most common sports betting options are available at both online operators and casinos in Iowa. The list of sports include:

• Football (NFL, NCAA)
• Basketball (NBA, WNBA, NCAA)
• Baseball (MLB, NCAA)
• Ice Hockey (NHL, NCAA)
• Soccer (MLS, World Cup, English Premier League)
• Boxing
• Tennis
• MMA
• Golf

Football is the most prominent sport in the US and is naturally popular in Iowa. Bettors can choose from numerous NFL markets with operators offering unique bets on individual games and the playoffs. NHL betting apps have gone down a storm in the state. Anyone interested in soccer betting can wager on international competitions such as the World Cup. Additionally, Iowa mobile sports betting apps offer betting options on major European leagues such as the English Premier League, French Ligue 1, Spanish La Liga, and the German Bundesliga.

Bettors can also bet on college sports.

Bet Types

Sports betting in Iowa is growing, so more unique bet types are available to residents in the state. All of the typical bets you would expect to find are available, including some niche bets. These bets include:

• Moneyline
• Parlays
• Point Spreads
• Totals
• Teasers
• Futures
• Round Robin
• Over/Under

Futures bets are popular among players as they increase the odds and keep it exciting for the duration of a season. For example, you could bet on who you think will win the Super Bowl before the regular season has even started.

These are a high-risk type of wager which allows players to win more depending on how “right” they are.

Live Betting in Iowa

Live betting, also referred to as ‘in-play’ wagering, allows players to place a bet once the action has already started. All of the standard bets are available as most modern legal sports betting operators frequently access real-time data feeds. Consequently, they can adjust their odds to reflect what is happening as the game progresses.

In some European betting markets, such as the UK, around 80% of all sports betting is now live wagering. It has become so prevalent because there is added excitement as players can watch a game with friends to see if their bets will win. Some examples of in-play bets include who you think will score the next touchdown, the next three-pointer, or which team you think will be leading at the end of a quarter. Some sportsbooks, such as BetRivers Iowa and Unibet Iowa, have an extensive live betting section covering a wide range of sports.

Legal Gambling Locations in Iowa

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has issued a gambling license Iowa to 19 casinos. For a sports betting operator to be legal in the state, they need to have a Iowa gambling license before being able to operate. Only one casino has chosen not to pursue sports betting, which is the Casino Queen Marquette.

Casino Operator

Ameristar Council Bluffs DraftKings

Diamond Jo Casino BetFair & FanDuel

Isle Bettendorf William Hill

Isle Waterloo William Hill

Lakeside William Hill

Prairie Meadows William Hill

Rhythm City Elite, Bet.Works

Riverside Elite, Bet.Works

Harrah’s Council Bluffs

Horseshoe Casino

Q Casino IGT Casino

Wild Rose Clinton DraftKings

Wild Rose Emmetsburg DraftKings

Wild Rose Jefferson DraftKings

Grand Falls Elite, Bet.Works

Casino Queen Marquette

If players want to know which casino is closest to them, they could just search for ‘casino near me,’ and they can go and complete their online sports betting registration in-person.

Popular Sports teams to be on in Iowa

There are no professional sports teams in Iowa, however, the state is surrounded by numerous Midwestern teams. That means locals spread their support out across a lot of teams such as the below:

NFL: Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers

NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks

MLB: Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox

NHL: Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks

College football is also very popular in Iowa, with Iowa State and Iowa both boasting a huge following. You can wager on each of these programs and also some smaller schools in the state without any issues. However, please remember that Iowa does not allow rop bets on college athletes.

Iowa Sports Betting Law

In Iowa, legislators approved a law that aims to ensure the state gets the maximum amount of benefits from legal sports betting. The main points to consider from the sports betting law in Iowa are:

• 6.75% tax rate on revenue
• $45,000 license fee
• Mobile betting apps are allowed.
• Up to two different sportsbook apps can operate under each license.
• You must register for mobile apps in person until January 1, 2021
• Operators may not take prop bets involving in-state college teams.
• Regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission

The IRGC worked quickly to pass emergency rules to launch sports betting before the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons. Mobile sports betting in Iowa began on August 15, 2019.