Iowa’s online and retail sports betting options are set to expand again.

• Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs Sportsbook
• Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs Online Sports Books
• Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs Opening
• Horseshoe Council Bluffs Sportsbook

Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs, Council Bluffs, IA. 20,146 likes 154 talking about this 69,706 were here. It's All About the Gambler www.horseshoecouncilbluffs.com To book meetings and events. Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs, Council Bluffs, IA. 20,159 likes 71 talking about this 69,781 were here. It's All About the Gambler www.horseshoecouncilbluffs.com To book meetings and events. Many other Iowa casinos expected to open sportsbooks before the start of the NFL season. Harrah's and Horseshoe casinos in Council Bluffs said their sports books will open Aug.

Two Iowa casinos, Harrah’s Council Bluffs and Horseshoe Council Bluffs, decided to step into the sports betting pond recently.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) approved operator agreements between the casinos’ owner, Harvey’s Management Iowa, and two sports betting brands.

One of those contracts will bring UnibetSportsbook to the Hawkeye State.

Details of the deals for Harrah’s and Horseshoe Council Bluffs

On July 9, the IRGC approved Harvey’s contracts with Unibet and William Hill sportsbooks. Currently, Harrah’s and Horseshoe casinos offer retail wagering under their own branding.

William Hill is already licensed to offer online betting in Iowa and does so under the auspices of multiple casinos in the state. The partnership with William Hill will benefit Iowa bettors, although temporary.

Since IA bettors have to register for online sportsbook accounts in person for the remainder of the year, the William Hill partnership gives bettors another place to complete that process.

It’s unclear how soon either Harvey’s property will be ready to facilitate sportsbook registrations. The same goes for Unibet.

Unibet’s launch may be longer, however, as it has not yet applied for licensure in Iowa. To date, the online sportsbook is being tight-lipped. Unibet may plan to wait until the in-person registration requirement expires. It wouldn’t be the only brand that is playing a waiting game in IA.

Will the new year bring new betting options in IA?

Another prominent sports betting brand, FanDuel, only operates in Iowa on a retail basis. FanDuel has been mum on when it plans to start accepting wagers online in IA.

Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs Sportsbook

The sportsbook may also be waiting for the in-person registration requirement to expire. Moreover, it may not feel the market in Iowa is worth the cost of admission.

William Hill has established itself as the dominant player in the online IA sports betting scene. Last month, over 57% of online handle in IA ran through William Hill.

Disrupting that landscape for FanDuel or Unibet will require a significant amount of capital. Both brands may not be overly anxious to do that in a market that accounted for just $58.02 million in handle in January.

Iowa’s dense and small population, plus lack of professional sports teams, do nothing to augment its case. The current COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t help, either.

Fragile circumstances give cause for caution

The pandemic affects the sports betting industry in IA in two ways. First, it controls the menu of sporting events available for wagering and secondly, affects the status of IA casinos.

For the better part of three months, only those who registered their online wagering accounts prior to March 16 could legally place wagers in IA because the state’s casinos were closed.

Positive tests for the coronavirus in IA are rising, hitting a state record of 916 new cases on July 10. Should that trend continue, casinos closing again could be on the horizon.

Other similar trends nationwide may affect the sporting events that sportsbooks rely upon as well. For example, the status of college football is unknown, with the Big Ten Conference already curtailing its schedule.

These fluid situations may give Unibet reasons to take a wait-and-see approach. It has already cleared the first necessary regulatory hurdle, so Iowans may eventually have access to the sportsbook.

• Iowa sportsbooks officially began taking in bets on August 15, 2019.
• Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts is a strong opponent of any gambling expansion in his state.
• The Horsemen’s Benevolent Protection Association has begun a petition in order to put gambling expansion at the state’s horse racing tracks on the 2020 November Ballot.

OMAHA, Neb. – On Thursday, Iowa sportsbooks opened up shop for the first time ever. The opening not only drew in sports fans from the Hawkeye State but also many eager Cornhusker fans from across the Missouri River.

The impact was felt almost immediately as the Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs, one of six sportsbooks in Iowa to launch earlier this week, is located only a few minutes from Omaha, Nebraska.

“(Nebraska was) 12-to-1 to win the Big 10 and 66-to-1 to win the national championship,” saidPaul Czak, General Manager of Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs to the Omaha World-Herald during the grand opening. “So I guess there will be a lot of futures bets being placed tonight and this weekend.”

There is a total of 19 state-regulated casinos in Iowa and almost all of them are expected to offer legal sports betting in the near future. Harrah’s Council Bluffs Hotel and Casino and Horseshoe Council Bluffs both have a grand opening for their retail sportsbooks scheduled for August 23 at 4 p.m.

Both of those properties also plan to have a sports wagering app available by mid-September. Sports gambling laws in Iowa require that any users of a mobile sports betting app in the state must first register in person at a licensed casino.

Sports betting apps in Iowa are also geo-fenced, meaning that you have to be physically located in the state to be able to use it. However, this is quite an easy rule for people in the Omaha area to adhere to. Sports bettors in Omaha, Nebraska will only have to take a short drive to cross state lines.

“Ten minutes way you play blackjack and craps and now sports betting. It just puts us at another disadvantage,” said Mike Newlin, general manager of Horseman’s Park.

There are a total of 17 states that have legalized sports betting since the repeal of the federal ban on the practice in May of 2018. Many more states have at least introduced some piece of legislation in order to regulate the fast-growing industry. However, Nebraska is not one of those states.

Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs Online Sports Books

“I think that it would be more than $120 million per year in revenue to the state, we could be utilizing that money for property tax relief,” said Newlin.

While that may sound like an enticing figure to many state legislators, it is of no interest to long-time opponent of expanded gambling, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts.

“For every dollar you collect in tax revenue you spend three dollars in the social service that accompany the costs that go along with that gambling,” said Ricketts.

Still, proponents of legal sports gambling have argued that many Americans currently bet on sports through offshore sportsbooks or with local bookies.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has estimated in the past that legal sports betting in America could become upwards of a $41.2 billion industry. In a more recent survey, they also found that 8 in 10 registered voters support legalizing sports betting in their state.

Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs Opening

In order to for the activity to come to Nebraska, it will require voters to amend the state constitution. The Horseman’s Benevolent Protection Association and other groups in the Cornhusker State are backing a petition that would put the issue on the 2020 November ballot.

Whether or not it will actually be put on the ballot remains to be seen. But, with Iowa sportsbooks now collecting tax dollars from Nebraska residents, it may add some pressure for state legislators to take the petition seriously.

News tags: American Gaming Association | Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs | Harrah’s Council Bluffs Hotel and Casino | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | Iowa | Mike Newlin | Nebraska | Omaha | Paul Czak | Pete Ricketts

Horseshoe Council Bluffs Sportsbook

– In his career, Hasan has worked both local and state government positions—including the Attorney General’s Office in Florida. On top of being familiar with the legislative process, he has also been researching and writing on the legality of sports betting across the US. Outside of work you’ll most likely find him producing or playing music, playing sports, or working on creative writing projects. You’ll also catch him at Doak Campbell Stadium cheering on the Noles.