Sportsbooks in the American state of Iowa reportedly pulled in aggregated online and retail handle of $161.4 million last month thanks to increased activity connected to this year’s edition of the annual ‘March Madness’ collegiate basketball tournament.

According to a Thursday report from the online news domain at PlayIA.com citing official information from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, the March tally represented a boost of about 8% when compared with the $143.6 million chalked up for February and was some 7.9% higher than the previous all-time record of $149.5 million set in January. The source detailed that this heavy action was helped by the removal three months ago of an in-person registration requirement for online sportsbetting before being further boosted as four local men’s and women’s teams combined to play in eight games during the ‘March Madness’ tournament.

Rapid rise:

Legalized online and retail sportsbooks in Iowa began accepting bets in August of 2019 with last month’s result having reportedly brought in approximately $908,000 in state taxes, which was yet another all-time high. This purportedly came as net receipts for the 31-day period swelled by around 75% month-on-month to reach $13.5 million to break the previous record set in January of $11.3 million.

Online importance:

Jessica Welman from PlayIA.com revealed that March per-day sportsbetting handle in Iowa improved by almost 2% month-on-month to hit a record $5.2 million with approximately 86.3% of these wagers having been placed via an online service. She additionally explained that this latter statistic sits in stark contrast with December’s ratio of 74.4% off of a much smaller pie of $104.8 million.

Welman reportedly declared…

“Iowa was one of the few legal sportsbetting jurisdictions to actually improve per-day betting in February so it is no surprise that sportsbooks set new highs in March. With new operators coming online and the in-person registration requirement long gone, ‘The Hawkeye State’ is well-positioned ahead of the inevitable summer slowdown.”

Individual achievement:

In terms of which operators had done the most sportsbetting business in March and PlayIA.com reported that the William Hill US service offered in partnership with the midwestern state’s Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo, Harrah’s Council Bluffs, Lakeside Hotel and Casino, Prairie Meadows Casino and Hotel, Horseshoe Council Bluffs and Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf properties narrowly led the market with aggregated handle of $49.5 million including roughly $43 million from online wagers. This was purportedly followed by the DraftKings Incorporated proposition from Wild Rose Casino and Resort at $44.3 million and the $43.7 million chalked up by the FanDuel Group and BetMGM facilities run via a partnership with Diamond Jo Casino-branded outlets in the cities of Northwood and Dubuque.