Legal Sports Betting in Iowa
Here are some quick facts you'll need to know before we dig in on the ins and outs of betting on sports:
Is Sports Betting Legal in Iowa?
Yes. Iowa legalized sports betting on August 15, 2019, after a change in federal law opened the door for states to allow it.
At first, you had to register for a sportsbook in person at a casino but that requirement changed in January 2021, allowing residents the option to sign up online.
Can I Bet on Sports in IA?
In Iowa, you must be 21 years or older to legally place a sports be. You don’t have to be an Iowa resident, but you must be physically within Iowa state lines whenever you actually place a bet.
All the betting apps and websites use geolocation to verify your location. This means if you drive over to Nebraska or up to Minnesota, your Iowa betting app will stop working until you’re back in Iowa. Conversely, visitors from neighboring states are welcome to bet when they are in Iowa.
What can you bet on?
Iowa sports betting laws allow wagering on both professional and college sports, no matter if those events take place in Iowa or another state. This is great news for all of us living in the state of Iowa— you can bet on college games involving Iowa teams (like University of Iowa or Iowa State). The only exception is that Iowa does not allow certain “prop” bets on individual college athletes from Iowa schools.
Getting Started Betting on Sports in IA: Registration and Requirements
Choose a sportsbook
Iowa has 13 legal online sportsbook apps and websites to choose from, including big names like FanDuel, DraftKings (a personal favorite of mine), BetMGM, and Caesars, among others. All of Iowa’s 19 licensed casinos have the ability to partner with up to three online sportsbook brands.
The good news is you can open accounts with multiple sportsbooks if you want to shop around for the best odds or Iowa sportsbook promos and bonuses.
Signing up
You can register for an online sportsbook from the comfort of your home (no driving to a casino just to sign up!). Download the sportsbook’s mobile app or visit their website, then start the sign-up process. You’ll need to provide some personal details to verify your identity and age – usually your name, address, date of birth, phone number, and the last four of your Social Security Number.
Don’t be alarmed by the personal questions; by law the sportsbook you want to sign up for must verify you are 21+ years of age and you are who you say you are. In the past in-state college athletes used other identities to sign up for sportsbooks so this is a crucial part of the process.
Depositing Money
To place bets, you’ll need to deposit funds (real money) into your account. Iowa sportsbooks offer convenient deposit methods like credit/debit cards, online bank transfer (ACH), PayPal, or sometimes even cash at a casino cage. Many books let you start with as little as $5 or $10. Once you have money in your account, you’re ready to bet.
Where to Place Bets
You have two options – bet online (or via mobile app) anywhere in Iowa, or bet in person at a retail sportsbook. In the case of Iowa, most retail sportsbooks are found inside a casino.
Online betting is the most popular because you can do it from your couch or across the street from Jack Trice while you’re tailgating. But if you prefer a physical sportsbook experience, Iowa’s casinos have you covered. For example, Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona has teamed has a Caesars Sportsbook, and the Diamond Jo Casinos (in Dubuque and Northwood) have FanDuel Sportsbook lounges on-site.
Types of Sports Bets: The Basics
Sports betting might seem to have its own language, but the basic bet types are easy to grasp. Here are the most common ways to bet on a game, with simple explanations:
- Moneyline: A moneyline bet is the simplest form – you’re just picking who will win the game, straight-up.
If the Iowa State Cyclones are playing the Iowa Hawkeyes, and you bet moneyline on the Cyclones, you win if Iowa State wins the game. Each team will have odds (e.g. Iowa State +200, Iowa -150) that determine the payout. “Plus” odds like +200 mean an underdog (bet $100 to win $200 profit), while “minus” odds like -150 mean a favorite (bet $150 to win $100 profit).
Don’t worry too much about the numbers as a beginner; just know moneyline = pick the winner.
- Point Spread: A point spread bet is about the margin of victory. Oddsmakers set a spread to handicap the favorite and make the matchup more even for betting.
For example, say the Hawkeyes are -7.5 favorites against the Cyclones. That means Iowa is expected to win by 7.5 points. If you bet on Iowa -7.5, they need to win by 8 or more points for your bet to win. If you bet on Iowa State at +7.5 (remember, the + means the team is the underdog), you win the bet if the Cyclones either win the game outright or lose by 7 or fewer points.
Point spreads are very popular in football and basketball. It’s a way to bet on a team even if you don’t necessarily think they’ll win the game – they just have to “cover the spread".
- Over/Under (Totals): An over/under bet (also called a total) doesn’t depend on who you think will actually win the game. Instead, it’s a wager on the combined score of both teams.
The sportsbook sets a predicted total points (for example, 52.0 points for an Iowa vs. Iowa State football game). You can bet “Over 52” if you think it will be a high-scoring game (let’s not fool ourselves) or “Under 45” if you expect a defensive battle. If the final combined score is higher than the line, the over wins; if it’s lower, the under wins.
- Parlay: A parlay bet lets you combine multiple picks into one bigger bet for a higher payout. This is an extremely popular way to bet on sports but with each bet, or “leg”, you add onto your parlay it decreases the odds of you winning.
Here’s an example. You could parlay three outcomes: the Hawkeyes to win their game (moneyline), the Cyclones to cover the spread in theirs, and the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Minnesota Vikings to score over 55 points (over/under). If all three picks are correct, you win a much larger payoff than betting each one individually. But if any one of them loses, the entire parlay loses.
- Prop Bets: A prop (proposition) bet is a wager on something specific in a game that’s not just the final score. This could be a team prop like “How many times will the Hawkeyes punt in a game?” or a player prop like “Will Justin Jefferson score a touchdown?”. In Iowa, you can do props on pro games, but as noted above, props on individual college players for Iowa teams are not allowed.
- Futures: A futures bet is a long-term wager on a season outcome, like betting before the season that the Iowa Hawkeyes will win the Big Ten Championship, or that the Kansas City Chiefs will win the next Super Bowl. These bets won’t pay out until the outcome is decided months later, but they can be fun to place and follow. Typically any welcome offers you find here at IowaBets.com prohibit betting on a futures bet to claim the promo.
Tips and Responsible Betting
Here are some top tips to know as you start betting on sports.
Take Advantage of Promotions
As a beginner, make sure you utilize the sign-up bonuses offered. They give you extra value and cushion in the form of bonus bets while you learn the ropes.
Sportsbooks also run ongoing promotions like odds boosts or parlay insurance, two popular promos you’ll find at the bet365 Iowa Sportsbook. These can be fun, but always read the terms.
Start Small & Stick to Basics
Early on it’s smart to stick to the main bet types (moneyline, spread, total) we covered here on sports you know. If you’re a fan of football but not hockey, I don’t recommend betting the spread on a Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks game.
Set a per bet limit, or a “unit”, on how much money you’re willing to place on a single bet. For example, if your unit is $5, you only bet $5 on any bet you place, nothing more.
Use Betting Tools
Iowa’s legal apps have helpful features as do we here at IowaBets. You can often cash out a bet early to lock in a win or cut a loss if the game is going a certain way. Many apps also offer live betting so you can bet during the game as odds update in real time. These are advanced features – feel free to try them in small amounts once you’re comfortable.
We have a gambling tax calculator here at IowaBets.com where you can identify how much you’ll owe in taxes on your sports betting winnings.
Set Limits & Gamble Responsibly
Iowa requires all sportsbooks to provide responsible gaming tools. In your sportsbook account settings, you can set daily or monthly deposit limits, wager limits, or time limits to ensure you don’t get carried away and you’re being smart about the amount of money you’re betting.
It’s a good idea to decide on a budget for how much you can afford to lose (think of it as entertainment expense). Never chase losses by betting more than you had originally planned. If you ever feel your gambling is getting out of control or is no longer fun, Iowa has resources to help. You can self-exclude from apps for a cooling-off period, or even up to five years in Iowa (for instance, DraftKings lets you exclude up to five years directly through the app). For confidential help with problem gambling, you can call 1-800-BETS-OFF anytime.
How to Bet on Sports FAQs
The moneyline references a type of sports bet. When you bet on the moneyline, it means you're betting on one of the teams to win outright. The moneyline choices will have either a +, to signify the underdog, or a -, to signify the favorite, in front of the odds. Pick either team to make your moneyline bet.
Yes, you can make a parlay bet in Iowa. A parlay will string together multiple bets, or "legs", together into one big bet. The amount of legs you can parlay together may be different from sportsbook to sportsbook.
Yes, it's recommended you sign up at multiple sportsbooks so you can take advantage of promos available as well as line shop. Line shopping is the process of looking at odds provided by multiple different sportsbooks and finding the ones that provide the most value.
Author
Tyler Olson has lived most of his life in Iowa, working in sports media for over a decade, writing and editing primarily NFL, sports betting, and iGaming content. His primary focus is giving sports bettors the most up-to-date information on legal operators, sharing the latest promo code offerings and analyzing team and player odds bettors can place bets on.