KDSN RADIO Sports
Sports gambling is small portion of overall casino revenue
(Radio Iowa) – Sports gambling set a one-month record with some 210 million wagered in September. Racing and Gaming Administrator Brian Ohrilko, says that seems like a big number — but not when you look at the bigger gambling picture. “It’s important to note that sports wagering, and the revenue that is generated from sports wagering is really a very small portion of the overall revenue in the casino industry,” he says.
Ohorilko says the September sports revenue netted around six million dollars for the casinos and sports wagering companies. “When you look at casino numbers and casino numbers for this month — which was 139 million in overall net receipts. And so, it really is just a small portion of the profits and revenue that casinos make,” Ohorilko says. He says they knew from the start that sports betting was going to be a small portion of casino profits and state tax collections from gambling — but he says it gives casinos another product. “Sports wagering is something that people are interested in — and we are seeing success in that market — and we are seeing it conducted in a way that Iowans can feel safe that they are making bets in a regulated environment,” according to Ohorilko.
He says sports gambling had some economic impact as well with the money spent in advertising as it started. “When we were going through a period when in-person registration had sunset — and then also leading up to football this year — we were seeing levels of advertising beyond anything we were seeing in the casino environment before. And so, there truly is an impact there,” Ohorilko says.
He says the advertising for sports betting has eased some as people learned they could sign up without going to a casino.
