Call it a “Mattress tax.”
The first revenue report affected by payouts Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale received as part of his historic $75 million win on Houston Astros futures bets came from Iowa, where the state’s Racing and Gaming Commission reported $5.8 million in sports wagering revenue for November.
The sportsbooks’ revenue total was overshadowed by the combined $10 million in payouts Betfred and Unibet made to McIngvale. He placed $1 million wagers with each in July on the Astros to win the World Series at +500, and he collected after Houston claimed the title Nov. 5 with a 4-1 victory in Game 6.
Iowa’s revenue total was its lowest since operators claimed $5.7 million in September 2021, and November’s figure was the third lowest in 40 months of accepting wagers.
The hold was a paltry 2.3%, also the third-lowest figure in Hawkeye State history and nearly 5 full percentage points lower than what the house could have claimed had the Phillies been able to upend the Astros in the Fall Classic. Iowa also cleared $2 billion in handle for the calendar year, and the state will surpass $5 billion all-time with December’s report.
If there was one silver lining, it came for the state’s treasury. Adjustments made by operators were in favor of the state in November, which meant they provided close to $1.6 million in tax receipts. Based on Iowa’s 6.75% tax rate on operator revenue, it would normally take close to $23.8 million in revenue to generate $1.6 million in taxes.
Betfred and Unibet end up in the red
The monthly losses for Betfred and Unibet were historic. In the case of Betfred, there appears to have been another notable wager made in November, considering its $1.4 million handle was the second-highest total of the year and resulted in the net loss for the month being just over $6 million — McIngvale’s wager and payout. That swung Betfred’s bottom line to minus $4.6 million for the 2022 calendar year and minus $3.1 million overall.
Unibet, which has opted to leave Iowa to focus on states where mobile sports wagering is part of a broader iGaming package with online casino play, had a net loss of nearly $6.3 million for November and swung to an overall loss of more than $5 million since launching operations in September 2021. In the four months following McIngvale’s $1 million wager in July, Unibet accepted $641,367 in wagers combined.
Other states that will see their bottom lines for November dramatically impacted by McIngvale’s bets are Louisiana and Nevada. Barstool Sportsbook and WynnBET in the Pelican State paid out more than $22 million, while Caesars Sportsbook and BetMGM were on the hook for a combined $40 million in the Silver State.
FanDuel tops $6M in revenue again
FanDuel paced all operators with slightly more than $6 million in revenue, the second time in three months it reached that mark and only the third time in state history with operator revenue above $6 million. The 11.6% hold was the fifth time in eight months FanDuel had a double-digit hold. It also cleared $40 million in revenue for 2022.
The solid month by FanDuel was a key reason mobile operators were able to post a positive win rate, which finished at 1.7% with just $3.8 million revenue from $223.5 million in online wagers. DraftKings set an all-time state high for handle for the second consecutive month at $79.8 million, though its revenue dropped for a second consecutive month from an all-time high of $7.3 million in September to $4.4 million, with a win rate of 5.5%
Caesars was a comfortable third for both handle and revenue, with the former eclipsing $40 million for the first time since March at $41.8 million. It finished less than $10,000 shy of $3 million in revenue as it cleared $2.3 million for the fourth straight month.
BetMGM surpassed $20 million handle for the first time since its all-time high of $22.6 million in March, while its $1.5 million in revenue rounded out the list of operators that reached seven figures for November in the Hawkeye State.
Barstool Sportsbook topped $9 million handle for the third time in 13 months of operation in Iowa, accepting $9.4 million worth of bets, but its 4% hold — the lowest since 3.2% in January — resulted in revenue totaling less than $380,000. Barstool needs a record $10.9 million handle in December to reach $100 million since launch.
Hard Rock has solid rebound on retail side
Operators at Iowa’s 18 brick-and-mortar sportsbooks reported close to $24 million handle and had a solid 8.1% win rate that resulted in $1.9 million in revenue. Hard Rock in Sioux Falls, which failed to break even in October with a loss of more than $7,000, fared far better in November with a 21.7% win rate that resulted in close to $265,000 in winnings.
Diamond Jo in Worth paced all retail books with slightly more than $410,000 in revenue but was thwarted in its bid to become the first venue in state history to record three consecutive months with $1 million in winnings. Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs, which led all venues in handle at $6.3 million, was second in revenue at slightly more than $360,000.
Isle Casino in Waterloo was the only active casino to report a monthly loss for November as the public came out $16,940 ahead on $290,373 wagered. Casino Queen reported a loss of $4,513 for November, as Fubo Sportsbook is still paying out its losses following FuboTV’s decision to shut down its sportsbook in mid-October.
