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Michigan iGaming Shows $29.4M Revenue in First 10 Days

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
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It didn’t take long at all to show its worth. Internet gaming came out strong in its first 10 days of state-regulated action with more than $29M in total gross receipts. That’s quite an entrance to the new market.

Michigan took a quicker path to launching internet gaming sites than some others. (We’re looking at you, Pennsylvania.) Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill to legalize new forms of gambling in December 2019. She signed an amendment in December 2020, though it pertained to online poker. And in January 2021, the first online casino sites launched.

In fact, the initial launch happened on January 22. That means the new revenue stream had only 10 days to demonstrate its money-making ability before the end of the money, before the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) calculated January gaming revenue.

That’s all it took.

First 10 Days of Internet Gaming

Most states separate internet gaming revenue into two sections, one for traditional online casino games and another for online poker. The MGCB may do that in the future but not for the first month. There is, in fact, just one poker site – PokerStars – and it only launched on January 29 for three days of online poker before the month closed.

The online gaming numbers as a whole were impressive. In just 10 days, the sites revealed:

–Total igaming gross receipts: $29,354,294.98

–Total igaming state tax payments: $4,285,722.64

Of that, BetMGM comprised the largest contribution, but there were many involved in the total. The top five were:

–BetMGM with MGM Grand in Detroit: $11.08M

–DraftKings with Bay Mills Indian Community: $$6.23M

–FanDuel with MotorCity in Detroit: $5.97M

–PokerStars and FOX Bet with Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians: $1.78M

–BetRivers with Little River Band of Ottawa Indians: $1.22M

First 10 Days of Internet Sports Betting

Sports betting on the internet didn’t do too bad, either. Bettors were ready to place their wagers on the Super Bowl and, well, everything. The handle was quite impressive.

–Total internet sports betting handle: $115,165,702.64

–Total gross internet sports betting receipts: $13,333,027.28

–Total internet sports betting state tax payment: $111,695.89

The top three sportsbooks online were, in order of handle, FanDuel, DraftKings, and Barstool, followed by BetMGM. Others like PointsBet, BetRivers, and William Hill are just getting their footing.

Those numbers will likely increase in February with a full month of action, though daily averages will likely level off just before more sports ramp up their game schedules.

When the online sports revenue combines with retail sports wagering for the month of January, it puts the total handle at $150.8M.

Fragmented Information

Michigan is going to be an interesting state for igaming reporting, even numbers for overall gambling.

The MGCB reveals all information about the three Detroit casinos, the only ones not in the tribal gaming category. Those numbers for January showed:

–Total adjusted gross receipts: $86,780,341.72

–Total state wagering tax: $7,633,704.12

–Total city wagering tax: $10,326,860.66

MGM Grant Detroit brought in slightly more than MotorCity Casino, the former closing in on $40M and the latter just a bit over $33.1M. Greektown Casino is the smaller of the trio and showed more than $19.6M in adjusted revenue in January.

As expected due to pandemic restrictions, all casino revenue came in significantly lower than in 2020. That number last year was $120,018,670.30 in adjusted gross receipts for the three Detroit casinos.

When we look at the February 2021 revenue numbers, we can start to gauge growth and market size, competition between casinos and tribes, and how much the igaming revenue helps the gambling sector in Michigan altogether.

 

 

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