Michigan’s online casinos continue to dwarf sports betting through April

Motorcity Casino Detroit

Michigan will one day challenge to become the US online casino leader, confidently predict analysts, the only question is when the Great Lake State’s time will come.

The region’s online casinos and poker rooms continued to impress with $94.9m in April, down slightly from $95.1m in March. Revenue per-day rose to $3.16m per day for the 30 days from $3.07m per day in March.

The win generated $17.8m in tax revenue for the state and $5.2m in local taxes. BetMGM/MGM Grand Detroit led with $36.8m in adjusted receipts, yielding $7.2m in state taxes.

“There is no precedent for how Michigan has responded to the launch of online casinos,” noted Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayMichigan.com “It’s safe to say that at some point Michigan will challenge to be the largest online casino market in the US. The only question is when.”

Furthermore, Michigan experienced its first month-over-month decline in sports betting since launch, however, the seasonal slowdown didn’t stop the state from becoming the quickest to $1bn in online wagering. 

Michigan sportsbooks accepted $249.9m in online handle in April, which is down 30.5 per cent from $359.5m in March. Combined with $24.2 m retail handle, online and retail sportsbooks collected $274.2m in bets. The combined handle was down 28.5 per cent from $383.7m month-on-month.

April’s gross operator revenue from online betting slipped to $20.4m, which is down 36.8 per cent from $32.3m in March. That revenue yielded just $312,824 in state taxes.

“Sportsbooks are in a generally healthy position heading into the typical summer slowdown, especially considering Michigan’s pro teams have not done much to spur interest,” said Matt Schoch, analyst for PlayMichigan.com

“Tax revenue is still a concern, and we will likely have to wait until football season to see significant growth in sports betting again. But with the Olympics this year and the NBA Finals later than usual, sportsbooks can look forward to a busier-than-normal summer. Ideally, that will positively affect tax revenue, too.”

FanDuel/MotorCity Casino led with a $74.2m online handle, down from $107.2m in March. That produced $7m in gross sports betting receipts, resulting in a market-best $5.2m in taxable revenue.

“While the sports betting handle dropped 30-plus percent, which we expected the month after March Madness, internet casino gaming adjusted gross receipts held steady with a slight two-tenths of a percent increase in April,” stated Richard Kalm, MGCB executive director.