March betting figures for the state of Iowa followed the lead of its peers and witnessed a decline. As retail venues remained closed due and major sporting events were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa’s total sports bet amount fell in March. However, its revenue still managed to go up.

A decline in figures for March

Iowa’s sports betting handle for March was $19,576,985 marking a whopping 65.6% decline from February’s handle of $56.9 million. The drop was expected because sporting events were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Interestingly, the state’s revenue went up during the month, despite the casinos remaining shut for half the month. In February, the state earned $755,334 in revenue which increased by 55% to $1,171,164 in March.

The mobile numbers for the state remained strong and gained a 68% share in the total betting handle, valued at $13,316,068. The figure was down 64.8% compared to February.

Casinos remain shut

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds had ordered all casinos in the state to shut down in the middle of March. The original shutdown was planned till March 30 but has been extended twice since then. The state is using its resources to combat the COVID-19 outbreak and has urged for social distancing measures. Analysts expect that casino numbers for the month of March will be lackluster, followed by a devastating April. Thousands of casino employees have been furloughed and the industry is suffering because of the lack of sports betting options.

The online handle isn’t showing signs of recovery. The total online handle for March was less than half of February, which gave the state the highest single month online handle to date. The online numbers could have gone down significantly because people have to register themselves in-person at a retail sportsbook before they can start betting online. The law is set to expire on January 1, 2021, but until then, the state will not be operating to its fullest potential in the online betting sector.

The leaders in mobile betting, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, do not have an in-person registration requirement which has helped their markets immensely.