Iowa’s Wild Rose casinos open DraftKings sportsbooks

DraftKings and Wild Rose Casino & Resort announced last week the opening of three Wild Rose Sportsbooks powered by DraftKings at each of the Wild Rose Casino & Resort locations in Jefferson, Emmetsburg and Clinton, Iowa.

The newest sportsbooks add to DraftKings’ already lineup of state-of-the-art retail locations in New York, New Jersey, and Mississippi. 

“Football season is in full swing and it’s the perfect time to bring our retail sports betting experience to Iowa,” said Tim Dent, Chief Compliance Officer at DraftKings. “Our retail locations allow fans to have an exceptional in-person experience with our product and we are proud to show off our industry-leading technological prowess in each of the three locations.  Iowa sports fans are in for a great time.”

Each location features a large videowall displaying games, a mix of smaller TVs, odds boards and a scrolling ticker with live score updates, stats and other player information. Fans will be able to place wagers at three ticket windows, including one at the cashier in each casino, and six self-service betting kiosks in each of the sportsbooks.

“This sportsbook powered by DraftKings rounds out the entertainment options Wild Rose presents to its customers. More important, together with DraftKings, we are tapping into an emerging market of fans and players who enjoy the excitement and competition of sports betting,” said Wild Rose President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Timmons. “As they say, ‘Let it Reign.’”

Sports bettors in Iowa will be able to place bets on all major U.S. sports, including professional and college football, baseball, professional and college basketball, hockey, golf, auto racing and much more seven days a week. The hours of operation at each sportsbook vary by location.

An important distinction in Iowa is that sportsbooks are not permitted to accept player proposition wagers involving an Iowa university or college. This regulation also extends to the opponents in games with Iowa schools. Pre-match and in-game wagering on Iowa schools and their opponents is permitted.

DraftKings and Wild Rose have also partnered to bring DraftKings’ mobile and online sportsbook to Iowa. By November, Wild Rose expects to offer a mobile application through DraftKings that allows bettors to place their wagers remotely, as long as they are in the state of Iowa. Once the app is live, Iowa’s sports betting law requires anyone who wants to set up a mobile account to register in person at one of the casinos.

Iowa State University hall-of-famer Dennis Gibson, a fan favorite in the 1980s, placed the inaugural wager at Wild Rose Jefferson’s new sports-betting operation, which took place October 4, Carroll Daily Times reports.

“I think the expectations are just so much higher,” Gibson, 55, said in an interview about ISU. “I think Iowa State is kind of in the position of I think moving into the top tier in the Big 12.”.

Travis Dvorak, general manager at Wild Rose Jefferson, said the remodeling of the Wild Rose sportsbook area drew on contracts and labor from Carroll, Jefferson and Boone.

“This design is second to none in the state of Iowa,” Dvorak said.

State Rep. Phil Thompson, a Jefferson Republican who helped shepherd the sports-gaming legislation through the capitol this past session, said it enhances an already strong Wild Rose, which is delivering jobs and non-profit contributions to a vast region of west-central Iowa, he said.

“I felt rural Iowa was in a lot of ways getting rolled over by our bigger cities,” Thompson said.

Thompson said Jefferson is on something of a roll itself now with recent economic-development announcements.

“We have a rare gem that will continue to deliver for us,” Thompson said.