Sports betting operator DraftKings extended its Iowa footprint this week with the launch of an online sportsbook and a betting app in the state.
The Boston-headquartered daily fantasy sports turned sports gambling company last year launched retail sportsbooks at three Iowa casinos through a partnership with Wild Rose Casino & Resort.
The three physical sportsbooks are located at Wild Rose’s casinos in the cities of Jefferson, Emmetsburg, and Clinton.
Iowa legalized sports betting in the summer of 2019. The state launched both retail and mobile wagering in mid-August to join the US athletic gambling frenzy that the strikedown of a long-standing ban on the practice in May 2018 marked the beginning of.
Thanks to the authorization of sports betting in Iowa, state residents can place wagers on a wide array of sports. However, it should be noted that Iowa-based brick-and-mortar and digital sportsbooks are not permitted to take proposition bets on college sports involving Iowa teams.
Another important provision in the state’s sports betting law states that sports bettors in Iowa need to complete an in-person registration process at physical sportsbooks in order to be able to place bets online. This requirement is set to remain in place until the start of 2021.
DraftKings Strengthens Iowa Foothold
Since US states were allowed to legalize sports betting and many did introduce sports betting, DraftKings has launched retail and/or digital sportsbooks in five states, including Iowa, and is gearing up preparations to enter a sixth one, with that being Colorado.
The gambling operator has quickly gained momentum in the nascent US sports betting space and has positioned itself among the leaders in the provision of wagering services in the states where it operates.
DraftKings secured its entry into Iowa in August 2019, when it announced its partnership with Wild Rose Entertainment, the operator behind the Wild Rose casino brand. Under the terms of the deal between the two companies, DraftKings became Wild Rose’s retail and mobile partner.
The two operators obtained licenses from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in August again. As mentioned earlier, they launched physical sportsbooks at three Wild Rose casinos in October.
Commenting on the launch of their mobile betting product in Iowa, DraftKings Co-founder and President of North American operations Matt Kalish said that they have seen “steady fan engagement in Iowa during the last few months at our three Wild Rose sportsbooks” and that they are “proud to offer Iowans a safe and responsible place to wager on sports – one that can be accessed conveniently from the palm of their hands.”
Wild Rose President and COO Tom Timmons said that they “believe DraftKings is offering the best mobile app yet to Iowa sports betting enthusiasts” and they have been “deluged with requests for this app” since they opened their sportsbooks.
DraftKings has launched its digital sports betting experience in Iowa right ahead of the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament, which this year is set to kick off in mid-March.
Source: How DraftKings hopes to set itself apart as it launches Iowa’s latest sports betting mobile app
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