Lakeside Hotel and Casino in Osceola, Iowa, celebrated Thursday the opening of its first fully owned sportsbook, the DRF Sportsbook, which features one of the largest 4K video walls in the state.
James Zenni, Chairman of Affinity Interactive, which owns Lakeside and Daily Racing Form (DRF), gave a speech during the opening ceremony, which concluded with a ribbon-cutting and Tyler Kluver, former University of Iowa long-snapper and host of the “Washed Up Walkons” podcast, placing the ceremonial first bet.
The opening follows DRF’s recent launches of its first online sportsbook in Iowa, as well as DRF Cash Grab, a rapidly growing, free-to-play mobile sports app.
During the event, James Zenni spoke and said: “The opening of Lakeside’s fully owned sportsbook, DRF Sportsbook, advances our overall strategy toward becoming a prominent omni-channel gaming provider in the U.S.”
In addition to the online sportsbook, DRF Sports provides fans with exclusive up-to-date sports betting stats, insights, and analysis on all major US sports and leagues.
Hey Iowa 👋
DRF Sportsbook JUST LAUNCHED at https://t.co/Gs1g80MZBU or download the DRF Sportsbook app: https://t.co/A21d66QzGN pic.twitter.com/4MaOmIdHDv
— DRF Sports (@DRF_Sports) January 26, 2022
The new DRF Sportsbook is run by Lakeside’s sister company, the Daily Racing Form, which provides data and editorial coverage to sports and horse racing in North America; and online and mobile wagering platform, DRF Bets.
The arrival of DRF to Iowa comes after the release of Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission‘s numbers for sports betting in the state during January, which saw more than $300 million wagered on sporting events in the state in a single month. The state’s lifetime sports betting handle has now reached to $3.1 billion.
More than $303 million were bet on sports during January, $276 million of which was wagered online, according to the IRGC. The monthly total was up 13.8% from $266.5 million in December and up 102.9% from $149.5 million in January 2021. That number is expected to grow during February and March due to the Super Bowl and the college men’s basketball tournament.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/03/04/61632-iowa-lakeside-casino-opens-first-drf-retail-sportsbook-with-a-ribboncutting-ceremony
