Sports wagers fell 2.9% from the $118m bet in April, and they were down 28.5% from March handle of $161m.
Net operator revenue was $6.1m, compared to $7.7m in April. The state collected $414,000 in tax revenue.
The drop in Iowa handle coincides with the conclusion of college revenue sports. With the absence of any local professional sports teams, the Hawkeye State is heavily dependent on college football and basketball.
Iowa, which allowed mobile sportsbook registration at the start of 2021, saw online wagers account for $100m, or 87%, of the state’s handle. That is a slight decrease from the 88.3% online share in April.
Retail sportsbooks saw handle improve month to month, with $15m in wagers in May compared to $13.8m in April.
Though Iowa does not release handle by sport, wagers almost certainly gravitated more toward MLB, which was in full force last month. Iowa residents share allegiances with baseball teams all over the Midwest, including the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.
The final weeks of the NBA and NHL regular seasons likely bolstered basketball and hockey wagers, as well.
William Hill, which has six casino partners in Iowa, led the state with $37.6m of handle, narrowly topping Wild Rose/DraftKings/BetRivers with $33.8m.
Diamond Jo/FanDuel/BetMGM took third with $27.6m.
The state’s 19 casinos collected $159m in adjusted gaming revenue last month, down slightly from the $161m won in April.
Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino led the state with $21.8m, followed by Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs with $18.4m and Ameristar Council Bluffs with $16.7m.
