bet365 Iowa Expected Launch Timeline & Date, Bonus Code Offer

bet365 will enter its fifth U.S. state sometime in the spring or summer of 2023 when it goes live in Iowa. Sources said the company originally targeted a March launch, but we’re now into May without any launch date announced.

That means bet365 missed some key events in April like the NFL Draft (despite Iowa’s strict draft betting rules), the Masters, and the start of the NHL and NBA playoffs.

The world’s favorite sportsbook, among the biggest globally, has slowplayed its entrance into the United States a bit. But just in 2023, it’s expanded to Ohio and Virginia. Those states joined New Jersey and Colorado as live bet365 states. It also secured licensing in Pennsylvania but did drop out of Massachusetts at the last minute.

bet365 offers arguably the best same game parlay product on the market, a long menu of props, and a terrific user experience. It will be a welcome addition to the Iowa market, which is already crowded but not with many innovative products.

bet365 Iowa bonus code offer

bet365 has one of the simplest sign-up offers in the U.S. right now — deposit $10, bet $1, get $200 in bonus bets. The bonus code ACTION is used in every other state.

During March Madness, they even briefly went to the same offer but for $365 in bonus bets. That promo ended on March 30, as they went back to $200.

All you need to do is place a $1 bet at odds of -500 or longer (meaning -200 is OK, -950 is not).

Once you have the bonus bets, you’ll have to wager them to turn into cash. And those bonus bets work like most other sportsbooks.

When is bet365 launching in Iowa?

Sources said bet365 hoped to go live in Iowa in sometime in March, but that seems unlikely as we end the month. It’s more likely they’ll launch later in the spring or early summer.

The barrier to entry Iowa is fairly low for sportsbooks, with reasonable licensing and tax rates. Operators must pay a $45,000 license fee and $10,000 annual renewal fee, plus 6.75% on sports betting revenue. In Pennsylvania and Illinois, it costs north of 8-figures to get licensed, and in New York, books must pay 51% of revenue in taxes.

That’s allowed single-state operators like Elite Sportsbook and Q Sportsbook to open operations there, along with popular Las Vegas books like Circa and SuperBook, which haven’t made a huge dent in the rest of the country.

How do bet365’s bonus bets work?

Bonus bets work like they do at most other sportsbooks. Say you have $200 in bonus bets and want to bet $10 of that on the Chicago Cubs at +120 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

• If the Cubs win, you profit $12, but you don’t keep your $10 bonus bet. So you’ll now have $12 in cash, plus $190 in bonus bets remaining.
• If the Cubs lose, you just lose the bonus bets, and will have $190 remaining.

bet365 also doesn’t have aggressive expirations on their bonus bets. The only way they’ll expire is if your account is inactive for 90 days. You’ll get the bonus bets will be issued one hour after your first $1 or more bet settles, and you must make your first bet within 30 days of account creation. All pretty easy marks to hit.

Unsure what +120 means? Check out our 12 beginner tips for sports betting or Action Network Director of Audio Matt Mitchell on how to read American odds.

Where is bet365 available?

bet365 is available in many countries around the world, but in the U.S., it’s available in five states.

1. New Jersey
2. Colorado
3. Ohio
4. Virginia
5. Iowa (coming soon)

What other sportsbooks operate in Iowa?

As we covered, Iowa is home to a number of smaller sportsbooks given the licensing cost and sports betting laws. It’s even home to the only sportsbook owned by a municipality in the nation — Q Sportsbook in Dubuque.

Here are the licensing requirements to know:

• $45,000 license fee, $10,000 annual renewal fee. Quite reasonable compared to 8-figure licenses in Pennsylvania, and 51% tax rate in New York.
• 6.75% tax rate on sports betting revenue
• Sports betting regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission
• Two skins per license allowed

And here are the sportsbooks operating in Iowa as of March 2023:

1. DraftKings
2. Caesars
3. FanDuel
4. BetRivers
5. BetMGM
6. PointsBet
7. Circa Sports
8. Betway
9. SuperBook
10. Betfred
11. Barstool Sportsbook
12. Hard Rock
13. Bally Bet
14. Elite Sportsbook
15. Q Sportsbook
16. DRF Sportsbook
17. ClutchBet

By our count, there are also three sportsbooks that shuttered operations in Iowa — Unibet, which continues to operate in other states, Fubo Sportsbook, which shut down all together, and theScore Bet, which was acquired by Penn National Gaming and is focusing on its operation in Canada.