Iowa sports bettors have a limited window to claim one of the more generous welcome offers on the market. According to Covers.com, the BetMGM bonus code COVERS1550 unlocks a $1,500 First Bet plus $50 in Bonus Bets, and new users must sign up by Oct. 18, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET to qualify.
Iowa is one of 15 eligible jurisdictions for the promotion, alongside Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, and several others. The offer can be activated with a first wager on Friday night's Big Ten matchup between Washington and Purdue, though any real money bet qualifies.
How the $1,500 First Bet Offer Works
The promotion has two parts. First, BetMGM insures your initial wager: if your first bet loses, you receive your entire stake back in bonus bets, up to $1,500. Second, BetMGM adds $50 in Bonus Bets regardless of how the first wager turns out.
There are conditions to know before signing up:
- The offer is limited to new users in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IL, IN, LA, KS, KY, MD, NC, OH, TN, VA and WY.
- A $10 minimum deposit and a real money wager are required to activate the bonus.
- Wagers of $50 or more are refunded as five bonus bets, each worth 20% of the qualifying stake. Wagers under $50 come back as a single bonus bet.
- Bonus bets expire after seven days.
- Anyone on a self-exclusion list for gambling is ineligible.
Here is a concrete example from Covers.com: a $1,500 bet on Washington vs. Purdue that loses would return five $300 bonus bets, totaling $1,500. If the bet wins, the winnings are immediately withdrawable, and the $50 in Bonus Bets still lands in your account.
What the Bonus Terms Mean for Your Wallet
Bonus bets are not cash. BetMGM requires you to wager the bonus before any payout is available, and only the winnings from a bonus bet wager are returned, not the bonus bet itself. That means a $300 bonus bet that wins at even money pays out $300 in cash, while the bonus stake disappears.
CBS Sports, which reviewed the same promotion, confirmed the payout structure: a qualifying bet of $49 or less returns one bonus bet equal to the original stake, while a bet of $50 or more returns five bonus tokens each worth 20% of the initial wager.