Place your bets: Iowa's first sportsbook to open next week near Iowa-Minnesota border
Betting lines for college basketball games are displayed during a viewing party for the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
NORTHWOOD, Iowa (FOX 9) - Less than a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities, the first sportsbook in Iowa will open in one week.
Thursday, Aug. 29, FandDuel Sportsbook at Diamond Jo Casino will open in Northwood, Iowa, just across the Minnesota border.
Sports gambling was legalized by the Iowa legislature in May and the law went into effect in August.
Former Vikings player John Randle will be on hand to make the ceremonial first bet at the new sportsbook.
According to a release from Diamond Jo Casino and FanDuel, a ribbon cutting ceremony will take place before guests from Iowa and Minnesota can make their first legal sports bets.
This story was reported from Eden Prairie, Minn.