Iowa Becomes the First State to Offer Fubo Sportsbook

Dave Schwab Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Over the past several years, fubo TV Inc. has become a popular television streaming service with a heavy emphasis on sports. The network has working relationships with all the major US sports leagues including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS.

The natural progression into legal sports betting led to the formation of Fubo Gaming. This division was launched earlier this year. The primary goal is to provide a sports entertainment experience tied to legal sports betting and interactive gaming.

Based in Chicago, Fubo Gaming has formed strategic alliances for its immediate expansion plans into five different states. The initial launch of the Fubo Sportsbook mobile app recently took place in Iowa.

The other four markets on the current expansion list are New Jersey, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Arizona. All four are pending regulatory approval with plans to launch in the coming weeks. The timing could not be better with the start of the 2021 football season.

The launch in Iowa is tied to Fubo Gaming’s partnership with Casino Queen. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) granted approval to go live on Aug. 31. This is the state’s 19th legal sportsbook operator.

As president of Fubo Gaming, Scott Butera made the following statements in a company press release:

“As we enter the mobile sports betting market, we couldn’t be more excited to kick off this journey in Iowa. We thank the IRGC and Casino Queen for being the perfect partner in helping us cross the goal line and bring this sportsbook to the passionate sports fans of Iowa.”

He went on to add:

“Fubo Gaming brings together fuboTV’s leading sports-first live TV streaming platform with the Fubo Sportsbook to create an omni-screen ecosystem in which wagering information automatically syncs with users’ interests and real-time viewing.

“We believe Fubo Sportsbook will provide an elevated sports entertainment experience that will bring increased interaction and engagement between sports viewing and betting. We are working with regulators in additional markets as we aim to truly innovate the gaming space.”

Iowa was a natural choice for the company’s initial launch given its Midwest location. This state is one of the faster growing markets in the legal US sports betting industry. Iowa has offered both retail and mobile sports betting since 2019.

A change in state law in January of this year paved the way for remote registration of mobile betting accounts. Since that point, 86% of the state’s monthly betting volume is booked through mobile sportsbook apps. This is up from 66.5% in the first year and a half of operation.

Through July of this year, Iowa’s total sports betting handle has reached $887.9 million for 2021.

Fubo Gaming’s partner in New Jersey is Caesars Entertainment. The company signed a deal with The Cordish Company to enter the Pennsylvania market as a legal mobile sportsbook operator.

A partnership with the Ak-Chin Indian Community will pave the way for a launch in the brand new Arizona sports betting industry.

Written by Dave Schwab, our US Sports Betting Industry expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.

Dave Schwab

Dave Schwab has been covering the sports betting industry for the past 12 years as the main focus of his specialty marketing company for online content. This endeavor followed a previous career in the field of sales and marketing in the wholesaling sector.Most of his weekly pieces focus on the rapidly expanding legal US sports betting industry. However, he still does extensive work covering betting angles that can provide a competitive edge to avid players. Dave believes that it is always a challenge to take past results and current form to try and correctly determine a future result. Sports brings out the unpredictability in what should be a fairly predictable outcome based on the stats, facts and recent trends in a particular matchup. More from Dave Schwab