Michigan sets $220.7 million gross igaming revenue record in October

Gross internet gaming and sports betting receipts from commercial and tribal operators in Michigan hit $253.7 million in October. This comfortably surpasses $205.3 million from last year by 23.6% but falls 2.8% short of $261.0 million in September this year.

Total market adjusted gross receipts, which account for promotional spending, hit $208.5 million, according to Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) figures. This beat last year by 24.3% but missed September’s total by 0.7%.

Michigan igaming market hits new heights

The stand-out highlight for October was record igaming revenue, surpassing the existing all-time high of $215.5m in March this year by 2.4%. Gross igaming receipts were also 37.7% higher than last year and 8.9% above September.

Adjusted gross receipts from igaming were 37.7% more than in 2023 and 8.9% higher than September in Michigan.

FanDuel and MotorCity Casino narrowly beat BetMGM and MGM Grand Detroit for the top spot in the market in October. The FanDuel and MotorCity Casino partnership generated $56.17 million in gross receipts and $50.56 million in adjusted receipts.

BetMGM and MGM Grand Detroit were just behind with $56.16 million in gross receipts and $50.55 million in adjusted gross receipts. DraftKings and the Bay Mills Indian Community rounded off the top three with $40.0 million in gross receipts and $36.0 million adjusted receipts.

Sports betting gross receipts down to $33.0 million

Turning now to sports betting, gross online sports betting receipts hit $33.0 million. This is 26.7% less than last year and 43.5% less than September. As for adjusted gross sports betting receipts, this amounted to $9.9 million, down 58.0% on last year and 64.3% behind September. Unlucky NFL results for October have been bemoaned across the industry.

However, handle-wise, players spent a total of $560.4 million on sports wagering. This is up 5.1% on last year and 11.7% from September but was not enough to halt a decline across receipts. In terms of hold, based on gross online sports betting receipts, this stood at 5.89%. As for adjusted gross sports betting receipts, hold for October was 1.77%.

FanDuel and MotorCity Casino remain the runaway leaders in this market with $17.0 million in gross receipts. Having taken $211.3 million in wagers, this left a monthly hold of 8.05%.

DraftKings and the Bay Mills Indian Community placed second with $6.5 million from $159.9 million for a 4.07% hold. BetMGM and MGM Grand Detroit ranked third with $4.6 million off $84.3 million, leaving a 5.46% hold.

Other notable operators include ESPN Bet and Hollywood Greektown Casino, with gross receipts at $1.8 million and handle $31.5 million, meaning a 5.71% hold. Caesars and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa posted $1.2 million in receipts off $27.7 million for a 4.33% hold.

As for taxes, operators submitted $42.1 million in total taxes and payments during October. Of this, $41.5 million related to igaming, while a further $569,374 came from sports betting . Tribal operators also reported making $5.2 million in payments to governing bodies.

Retail sports betting slips to loss in Detroit

The MGCB has also released figures for the three land-based commercial casinos in Detroit for October. Monthly aggregate revenue hit $102.9 million, up 24.3% from last October, during which the city was impacted by casino staff strikes, and 0.9% ahead of September this year.

Some $103.7 million came from slots and table games, an increase of 26.9% from last year. However, the overall market figure was brought down by an $826,796 loss from retail sports betting.

MGM led the land-based market with a 48% share. It posted $49.4 million in casino revenue but negative $474,293 in qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) from sports betting.

MotorCity had a 30% share with $31.7 million in casino revenue and a $528,408 sports betting QAGR loss. Hollywood Casino at Greektown was the only venue to post positive QAGR at $175,905, while casino revenue hit $22.6 million, meaning a 22% overall market share.

During October, the casinos paid $8.4 million in gaming taxes to Michigan and submitted $12.8 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to Detroit, all of which related to casino activity.

As for sports betting, $6,649 was paid in gaming taxes to the state and $8,127 wagering taxes to Detroit.