Iowa has always been viewed as an important market for legal online sports betting. More than a few US-based sportsbook operators have targeted the Hawkeye State in their early expansion plans.
Heading into the holiday season, sports bettors in the state will have two additional choices to bet the games online. Penn National Gaming’s Barstool Sportsbook mobile app is now live. Iowa will be one Fubo Sportsbook’s first expansions following its initial launch.
The legal Iowa sports betting market is coming off its biggest month. The industry posted a $210.4 million sports betting handle in the month of September. While the competition for market share will be fierce, both Barstool and Fubo bring some unique attributes to the game.
Barstool Sportsbook Iowa
The expansion into Iowa earlier this month is the 10th state offering the popular Barstool Sportsbook mobile app. This will be the third new state this fall behind an aggressive marketing plan.
The Barstool Sportsbook app has been a big hit in every previous state it has gone live. This goes back to the initial launch in Pennsylvania as the base of operations for Penn National.
The overall popularity of Barstool Sports as a media property has been a driving force. The mobile betting app has especially been a big hit among that key younger demographic of sports bettors.
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Barstool Sportsbook has dumped quite a bit of money into its promotional budget for new states. Customers can receive a $10 free betting credit when registering for a new online betting account.
Back in May of this year, Penn National CEO Jay Snowden laid the groundwork for rapid expansion with the following comments:
“As the only gaming operator with a fully integrated sports media and entertainment partner, we have the unique ability to attract new and existing Penn National customers to enjoy our retail and interactive gaming, sports betting and entertainment offerings, as evidenced by our performance to date in Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
We are eager to leverage the building momentum for the Barstool Sportsbook app with the additional launches we have planned for 2021.”
Fubo Sportsbook in Iowa
Fubo Sportsbook made its debut in Iowa on Nov. 3. One of this operator’s biggest advantages in any market it enters is a full integration with fubo TV. This gives sports fans the ability to stream the games they bet on.
The betting apps strongest feature is “Watching Now.” This highlights the connection between betting lines and relevant promotional wagering offers. It creates the interaction and integration of Fubo Sportsbook and fubo TV.
Fubo’s goal in Iowa is to source sports betting customers from viewers using the streaming service. This would cut down on the costs tied to customer acquisition.
David Gandler is the co-founder and CEO of fubo TV. His thoughts on the company’s aspirations in the legal US sports betting industry include:
“Fubo TV’s vision to define a new category of interactive sports and entertainment television takes another step forward with the launch of Fubo Sportsbook. This is a pivotal moment not just for fubo TV, but for the US sports wagering and entertainment industries.”
