July 2026 Iowa Sports Betting Report: $183M Handle as Hold Rebounds and Revenue Climbs to $18M
Iowa's July 2026 IRGC figures show handle holding near flat at $182.9 million, down just 1.4% from June. But the books held better this time — a 9.8% hold pushed operator revenue up 9.5% to $18.0 million, reversing June's soft month.
Month at a glance
| Total handle | $182,900,042 −1.4% vs June |
|---|---|
| Operator net receipts | $17,967,445 +9.5% vs June |
| Hold percentage | 9.8% +1.0pp vs June |
| Total payouts to bettors | $164,932,597 |
| State tax remitted | $1,213,194 +9.5% vs June |
| Online handle | $173,175,506 (94.7%) |
| Retail handle | $9,724,536 (5.3%) |
July is the first month of Iowa's new fiscal year, and it opened as a near-mirror of June on volume — handle eased just 1.4% to $182.9M, still in the summer trough before football. The difference was margin. After June's soft 8.9% hold, the books recovered to 9.8%, and that alone was enough to turn a lower-handle month into a higher-revenue one.
Hold rebound does the heavy lifting
The month is a clean demonstration of how hold, not handle, drives revenue in a mature market:
| Handle change vs June | −1.4% ($182.9M vs $185.4M) |
|---|---|
| Revenue change vs June | +9.5% ($18.0M vs $16.4M) |
| Hold change vs June | 9.8% vs 8.9% (+1.0pp) |
Handle fell and revenue rose — the exact inverse of what a casual reader might expect. Bettors wagered slightly less, but a normal-to-firm hold meant the books kept a larger cut, and the 6.75% state tax rose in lockstep. Read June and July together and the two-month average hold lands right around the operators' long-run number, confirming June was the outlier, not July.
Retail creeps up as online eases
Online handle slipped 2.0% to $173.2M while retail handle rose 12% to $9.7M, nudging the retail share to 5.3% — its highest of the year so far. Summer soccer and a full baseball calendar tend to bring more walk-up counter action, and July's split reflects that. Online still owns roughly 95% of the market, but the retail counters had a comparatively strong month.
Online handle by operator (July 2026)
| Operator | Online handle | Share | Net receipts | Hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings Crown IA Gaming, LLC | $70.9M | 40.9% | $6.3M | 8.9% |
| FanDuel Betfair Interactive US LLC | $44.2M | 25.5% | $5.0M | 11.4% |
| SuperBook American Wagering Inc. | $15.6M | 9.0% | $1.7M | 10.7% |
| bet365 Hillside (Iowa) LLC | $15.2M | 8.8% | $1.4M | 9.5% |
| BetMGM BetMGM, LLC | $11.4M | 6.6% | $1.2M | 10.5% |
| Fanatics Sportsbook FBG Iowa LLC | $8.8M | 5.1% | $847K | 9.6% |
| ESPN BET Penn Sports Interactive, LLC | $2.9M | 1.7% | $267K | 9.2% |
| Circa Sports Circa Sports Iowa LLC | $2.0M | 1.2% | −$142K | -7.1% |
| BetRivers Rush Street Interactive IA, LLC | $1.5M | 0.9% | $159K | 10.5% |
| Bally Bet Bally's Management Group, LLC | $882K | 0.5% | $62K | 7.0% |
DraftKings and FanDuel combined for $115.0M in online handle — 66.4% share, the duopoly's firmest grip of the past several months. DraftKings led at $70.9M with a recovered 8.9% hold; FanDuel followed at $44.2M and held a sturdy 11.4%.
bet365 closes on SuperBook for third
The most competitive race in the state is for the #3 slot. SuperBook held it on $15.56M of handle, but bet365 pulled to within about $400K at $15.15M — the closest that gap has been all year. It's a genuine mid-tier contest:
- SuperBook ($15.56M, 9.0% share) — the sharp-friendly Westgate pedigree, holding 10.7%.
- bet365 ($15.15M, 8.8% share) — live-betting tools and steady growth, holding 9.5%.
- BetMGM ($11.35M, 6.6% share) — a clear step back at #5, holding a firm 10.5%.
- Fanatics ($8.80M, 5.1% share) — the FanCash book slid to #6 as its handle cooled from June.
Circa Sports makes it three
Circa Sports posted negative net receipts of −$141,680 on $2.0M of online handle — a third straight losing month, and the largest of the streak. May was −$46,425, June was effectively break-even at −$2,738, and July widened to a 7.1% margin in the bettors' favor. Three consecutive red months is no longer a one-off data point; it's a pattern consistent with Circa's low-vig, sharp-tolerant model, where a well-picked bettor base can beat the house over a run of low-volume summer months. Whether football season firms it up is the key question for the fall.
Sporttrade still dark
Sporttrade (Sporttrade Iowa LLC) again reported $0 in online handle, a second straight zero month after posting $252K in May. The exchange-style book has now been absent from Iowa's active operator list since the start of the summer, leaving ten operators taking online wagers in the state.
State tax under SF 605
July generated $1.21 million in state tax from operator revenue, the seventh full month under the SF 605 player-side withholding regime and the first month of fiscal year 2027. The month-over-month increase mirrors the revenue rebound — a firmer hold means a larger 6.75% tax base. Use our tax calculator if you need to estimate withholding on a specific wager.
What to watch in August
- Football preseason — NFL and college markets open late in the month, the first lift out of the summer trough.
- The SuperBook–bet365 race — with a $400K gap, #3 could change hands in either direction.
- Circa in the fall — does a fuller football slate break the three-month losing streak?
- Retail's share — July's 5.3% was a yearly high; does it hold or revert as online football action ramps?
- Sporttrade — a third straight zero would suggest a longer-term exit.
Source: Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, Sports Wagering Revenue Report — July 2026.