Photo courtesy of Elite Casinos

Thanksgiving weekend is a “football feast” for sports bettors. Pro football Thursday and Sunday, plus lots of college football action in between. And when it comes to sports gambling, Dan Franz, General Manager of Riverside Casino and Golf Resort, says football is king. The return of football this fall led Iowan’s to bet a record $82 million in sports gambling in October according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Franz says the numbers are trending well for November, but he says he tempers his enthusiasm about getting too excited, “The reality of the level of the numbers compared to the overall casino, because our casino operations still dwarf the sports wagering piece of things. There are a lot more people who will come to play slots, play table games than there are placing sports bets.” Still, Franz says they like where they’re at with the sports wagering business at their Elite Sportsbook. And while the pandemic interrupted operations of Riverside Casino itself, it actually helped sports betting, “During the shutdown of course, it was 100 percent online, any sports that were happening, although there weren’t many. Coming out of the shutdown, we saw an uptick in the online part of our sports wagering. We continue to see that as people get used to the online experience of that and the flexibility it gives you as a bettor to place bets wherever you want to, whenever you want to.” Franz says the bulk of their sports wagering is now done online and should flourish even more after January 1 when bettors no longer will be required to register at a sportsbook before placing a wager. Franz says that will increase the casino’s reach beyond their current 50 to 70 mile radius.