The Iowa sports betting market has been shifting recently, and another domino has fallen.
After Bally Bet suspended its services in Iowa to revamp its online product, Elite has now done the same. The sportsbook has partnered with Betfred to revamp its platform.
Elite will cease taking bets online in the first week of July as it begins the merge.
With so many sports betting operators attempting to carve out a section of the pie, some have been left holding the crumbs. To make themselves competitive, Elite and Betfred are joining forces to become one sports betting provider.
Elite will cease operations in Iowa on July 5
Bettors in the state still have 19 Iowa online sportsbooks ready to serve them. And most of them have special promotions for new users.
The partnership between Elite and Betfred means bettors who used Elite to place wagers will have to empty out their accounts. But there will be benefits for Iowans.
With this partnership, Betfred will soon offer retail sports betting at Riverside Casino and Golf Resort and Rhythm City Casino Resort, which will improve Iowa’s sports betting landscape.
To begin their merge, Elite will no longer offer online sports wagering as of July 5. Retail and kiosk sports betting will remain until late July. After that, Elite will begin to transition its retail sportsbooks to Betfred.
Elite is asking customers to cash out any wagers and withdraw all funds by July 19. They can also withdraw any balance from any Elite retail sportsbook locations. A physical check will be mailed to customers at the address on their account if they don’t zero out their balances.
Kiosk wagers will be honored up to 90 days after the event took place.
Users of Elite who have the option to switch to Betfred are being provided with a new customer offer, according to the company.
“New customers can get up to $1,200, plus the best rewards program, plus a ton of all new summertime baseball and soccer promos, plus immediate support.”
Betfred Iowa is also offering its normal signup bonuses.
“To start, you’ll get $200 after your first bet of $50 or more, plus get 50% back on net losses per week, up to $200, for 5 consecutive weeks!”
For those who already use Betfred, there will be new promotions released later.
What does the future hold for Betfred in Iowa?
Neither Betfred nor Elite managed to make a dent in the Iowa sports betting market individually, but they hope their partnership could push them to new heights.
It will not be easy to compete with the biggest sportsbooks in Iowa.
There are four sports wagering operators that have a handle of $100 million or more in the 2023 fiscal year so far.
- DraftKings: $681 million
- FanDuel: $480 million
- Caesars: $342 million
- BetMGM: $172 million
For comparison, Betfred has accumulated just over $16 million in total handle, while Elite has just $13 million. Their combined handle of just about $29 million would rank eighth in the state.
