Iowa: FanDuel opens new sportsbook at Boyd's Diamond Jo Casino

Boyd Gaming and FanDuel held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for their first retail sportsbook in the state of Iowa, located at the Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood.

“People are excited about this, this is an opportunity, something new that they haven’t had here before. Sports resonates with almost everyone. It doesn’t matter what sport it may be, so people are excited," said Scott Smith, general manager of Diamond Jo Casino, as reported by ABC 6 News. “Definitely will bring in a new demographic, a new group of people that will come to our property.”

Football hall of famer and Minnesota Vikings sports legend John Randle placed the ceremonial first bet. “For me, I think sports betting, it’s a new experience for the fans who like sports. It gives them a new opportunity to get involved with it," Randle said. Randle wagered 93 dollars, his former number.

“For him to have the interest level to come down here to our property and do our inaugural first bet with FanDuel and Diamond Jo Casino is second to none,” Smith said.

The FanDuel Sportsbook features three betting windows, six video displays including a large video wall, 11 self-service IGT betting kiosks and one sports ticker.

“If you’re unsure on how to make a sports wager, visit one of our team members, they’d be happy to help you out. Keep it simple and have fun with it,” said Smith. “It is just training but we hire great people to work at the sportsbook and the property itself. It’s been pretty smooth. We have great partners and are excited for this opportunity.”

New to the Midwest, sports betting has been gaining popularity over the years and now moving from the black market to casinos nationwide. “We’re for everybody. Sports betting was a subculture, it’s now mainstream,” said FanDuel Midwest regional manager Jeff Hoose. “It’s been legalized in 11 states and I anticipate this being a part of normal American life they way it is in Europe.”

Hoose says they are partnering with the Diamond Jo’s parent company Boyd Gaming to open sports betting operations at their Iowa properties in Northwood and Dubuque as well as two more in Indiana. “We’re very excited about it. It’s legal here in the Midwest and FanDuel is on the vanguard of that. FanDuel is about fun and excitement and changing the way you watch games, and now we can do that. Now the people here in North Iowa can come down, walk up right to the counter, and bet on their local team tonight.”

“There’s a lot of lights and a lot of numbers on that board. I don’t want you to be intimidated. I want you to come up and talk to us,” Hoose added. “If you have a functional understanding of math and a functional understanding of sports, I can talk you through it.”

In addition to making bets inside the casino, there will soon be a mobile app available, but it requires players to be inside of Iowa state borders to place those bets.

Iowa is expected to see more than $4 billion wagered annually in sports betting, but does not have a formal estimate about how much revenue it will bring in. Iowa casinos will pay a $45,000 licensing fee, with a $10,000 annual renewal fee. In addition, the state of Iowa will tax revenues at 6.75 percent. 

At Diamond Jo, officials are being cautious, the Globe Gazette reports. According to Smith, they are choosing to not release estimation figures. He is optimistic that the casinos location close to the Iowa/ Minnesota border will help boost their number of customers. With sports betting still illegal in Minnesota, Smith is optimistic that people will travel down I-35 across the state border, to set up their accounts.

“We’ve seen what other states have projected, and other sportsbooks have projected, and they’ve come in less,” Smith said. “We’re going to see how this all unfolds, before we announce any figures out there. We think we have a great product.”

Hoose says FanDuel knows they for now will be able to tap into the Minnesota market. “Diamond Jo has always drawn a lot of people from Minnesota and now this should only amplify that.”

Randle, who came to the event from his home in Minnesota, thinks that a fair number of people will be coming down from the Twin Cities to place their bets. He is bullish on the Twins, and is excited for people to be able to bet on the Vikings, with the season opener just over a week away. “I think 35-W is going to be an awfully busy road, full of people making the trip” Randle said. “It’s an easy trip, and I think it’s going to be a new experience that we’ll be talking about for years to come.”