Iowa Sports Betting History

Iowa became the 11th state to offer legalized sports betting in August of 2019. Initially, Iowa players could only register for an account at a retail sportsbook location, but now mobile registration is allowed. Iowa has 19 state-licensed casinos, which all have a sports betting permit, and are partnered with an online sportsbook operator. Each casino in Iowa is allowed to host two skins on its sports betting license, which means that there is no shortage of sportsbooks to choose from.

Current list of operators in the Iowa sports betting market as of September 2022:

• BetRivers Sportsbook
• Bally Bet Sportsbook
• Barstool Sportsbook
• Betfred Sportsbook
• BetMGM Sportsbook
• Betway Sportsbook
• Caesars Sportsbook
• Circa Sportsbook
• DraftKings Sportsbook
• DRF Sportsbook
• Elite Sportsbook
• FanDuel Sportsbook
• Fubo Sportsbook
• Hard Rock Sportsbook
• PointsBet Sportsbook
• Q Sportsbook
• TheScore Sportsbook

Most Popular Sportsbooks and Best Bonus Offers

DraftKings Sportsbook

• New accounts can get a $50 free bet when they make an initial deposit of $5 or more. Additionally, there is a 20% deposit match up to $1,000! To take full advantage of this promo, a new customer could make a $5,000 deposit to get the maximum free bet in the amount of $1,000. It is important to know that there is a play-through requirement associated with these bonus funds: for every $25 played on DraftKings Sportsbook, the user will have $1 in bonus funds released into their account. The play-through requirement must be met in 90 days from the date of your initial deposit to receive the maximum bonus

Fanduel Sportsbook

• Fanduel offers a Risk-Free bet of up to $1,000 on the first bet for new customers. FanDuel will match your stake amount in the form of free bets if your first wager is graded as a loss. It is vital to realize that free bets are not equivalent to cash, and you will only keep the winnings on any wagers made using free bets. Customers will have to forfeit any unused portion of their bonus if it is not used within 14 days of being claimed.

Betfred Sportsbook

• Signup with Betfred Sportsbook to become eligible for their welcome offer. The basic structure of the Betfred Welcome Offer is Bet $50 to Get $250 in free bets, but the breakdown is a little more complex:
  • Make a deposit and place at least $50 on an event with odds of -200 or longer. For example, betting on a market with odds of -250 would not qualify you for the welcome offer, but odds of -150 would be considered eligible. At this stage you will be credited with a $100 free bet. The following Monday, you will be credited with an additional $50 in free bets. To unlock the remaining $100 of free bets, new players must place a minimum cash bet of $1 each of the following two weeks, and they will receive a $50 free bet each week.

BetRivers Sportsbook

• New bettors can claim a risk-free 1st bet up to $500. This offer is less appealing than the other operators in the state in regards to the amount of free bets you can receive, but the it’s one of our editors favorites for their expansive markets. Not to mention the best WNBA odds in the market.

Caesars Sportsbook

• Caesars Sportsbook has arguably the most enticing welcome offer in the industry currently. Using the code USGFULLSPORT will allow new accounts to claim a risk-free first bet of up to $1,250. The risk-free bet is straightforward, new users have 30 days from opening an account to place their initial wager, and if it loses, they then have 14 days to use any credit they receive.

Unibet Sportsbook

• Signup with Unibet Sportsbook to become eligible for a risk-free bet, up to $100. You must make a minimum deposit of $20 into your Unibet account to be eligible for this welcome offer. This offer is nowhere near the scale of industry giants such as DraftKings or Fanduel, but can be an enticing offer for lower-scale bettors.

PointBet Sportsbook

• Iowa players can use promo code BETBONUS to receive up to $2,000 in risk-free wagers. The bonuses are broken into a risk-free fixed odds bet of up to $500, and a risk-free PointsBetting bet of up to $1,500. Pointsbetting is a unique way to wager that allows for a bettor to win or lose based on the outcome of the game that goes further than a traditional moneyline, spread, or total bet. Winnings and losses can be amplified because of the unique structure of PointsBetting, so be sure to do some research on this model of wagering before diving in head-first.

Popular sports to wager on in Iowa

Iowa does not have any major professional sports teams, but there are a large number of teams in surrounding states that give Iowans plenty to root for:

NFL: Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs
MLB: Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals
NBA: Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves

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

Outside of pro sports teams, Iowa has a ravenous college fanbase, with Iowa and Iowa State being the most popular teams by a landslide. College football and college basketball are widely popular in the state. Iowa does not allow wagering on prop bets for college athletes, but virtually every other market is available. Other sports such as the UFC, CFL, and soccer, are also popular sports to bet on. You must be 21 years of age in order to place bets in Iowa. There is no betting on high school sports and you must be physically in the state to bet. Unlike most states, Iowa allows betting on in-state college teams, although college prop bets are banned. Horse racing is also available in Iowa, whether it is in-person action, or through an online app.