Hard Rock Sportsbook Iowa to cease operations

SIOUX CITY — Hard Rock Sportsbook Iowa, the digital sportsbook of Sioux City's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, is shutting down.

Hard Rock says the end of the online sportsbook comes as a result of a change in ownership. The last day to place a wager via the sportsbook's website and app is Nov. 28, the casino announced. The website and app will be taken offline one month later, on Dec. 28; any remaining funds in accounts or winnings will be paid by check and sent to the bettor by mail.

Bets can continue to be placed at the in-person sportsbook at the casino.  

Hard Rock began accepting sports bets in-person in September 2019, after sports wagering became legal in the state of Iowa; during the sportsbook's first full month, patrons wagered $1.2 million on sporting events at the Hard Rock. The casino added online sports betting in December 2019.

Net receipts of Hard Rock's sports wagering in September, the most recent month for which statistics are available, were significantly lower than every other casino in the state -- only $47,710.01 in profit on a handle of nearly $2 million, according to data from the Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission. Net receipts on the casino's internet sports bets were $31,857.25 in the red, according to the IRGC data.   

Churchill Downs Incorporated, the parent company of the Kentucky Derby gained control of the Hard Rock last year, as part of a blockbuster $2.485 billion deal that included gaming properties in Virginia and New York. 

The online sports betting industry has become a multi-billion-dollar juggernaut in most of the U.S. since the U.S. Supreme Court gave its blessing to sports betting in 2018.