Michigan Online Gaming Revenue Drops In April Compared To Record March, But Still Strong

The latest financial overview by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) shows that the state’s gaming operators continue to draw on their success. However, while they reported a combined total of $234.8 million in gross receipts for the month, the results were slightly down from March.

The figure marks an 8.7% decrease from the previous month’s record earnings. The detailed performance of each operator reveals a nuanced landscape of iGaming and sports betting revenue streams within the state.

Gross receipts for the iGaming segment totaled $192.9 million last month. This represents a significant drop from March, when the gross receipts reached $215.15 million. However, the change is also in line with an overall dip in April among the legal iGaming states.

Gross sports betting receipts stood at $41.9 million for the month. The total online sports betting handle for April was $399.1 million, a drop of 16.9% compared to the $480.4 million handle a month earlier, which featured the bulk of the March Madness basketball action.

The adjusted gross receipts (AGR), which account for promotional credits and other deductions, amounted to $201.9 million, with iGaming contributing $174.2 million and online sportsbooks providing $27.8 million. Notably, this indicates a 10.4% decrease in iGaming AGR and a 4.1% increase in sports betting AGR compared to March.

Positive year-on-year iGaming growth

The state’s year-over-year comparison paints a brighter picture. iGaming AGR was up by 21.4% and sports betting AGR added 13.3% compared to April 2023.

The financial contributions to Michigan are substantial, with operators reporting $37.6 million in taxes and payments for April. Of this, iGaming taxes and fees accounted for $35.8 million, and online sports betting taxes and fees contributed $1.8 million.

Additionally, the three commercial casinos in Detroit paid $9.8 million in gambling-related taxes and service fees to the city. iGaming taxes and fees to Detroit amounted to $9.1 million and online sports betting taxes and fees were about $725k.

Tribal operators also made notable payments, contributing $4.3 million in April. As of April 2024, there are 15 commercial and tribal operators authorized to launch iGaming and/or online sports betting. The MGCB highlighted that all 15 provide iGaming services and 13 offer online sports betting.

Michigan remains competitive

Michigan remains the second-largest iGaming market in the U.S., once again ranking between Pennsylvania and New Jersey in April’s revenue report:

• Pennsylvania: $212.2 million
• Michigan: $192.9 million
• New Jersey: $187.9 million

FanDuel Casino continued its reign, taking the top spot in Michigan for the second month in a row, edging out BetMGM Casino Michigan. FanDuel brought in $50.7 million compared to BetMGM’s $49.8 million.

This also makes FanDuel the second operator in the state to surpass the $1 billion mark in total earnings. With April’s performance, FanDuel has raked in a total of $1.05 billion since launching in January 2021.

However, BetMGM still leads the overall race, having achieved $1.8 billion in revenue.

DraftKings Casino Michigan is trying to catch up. It’s nearing its own $1 billion milestone, which it will likely reach soon.

FanDuel leads sports betting market

A closer look at sports betting operator performances reveals FanDuel leading the charge there as well. It had $20.4 million in gross revenue, thanks to a 13.3% hold on $153.4 million in handle. Its action at the MotorCity Casino was also strong, contributing $520,800 from $3.8 million in wagers.

DraftKings won $10.5 million from $106.3 million in bets. That makes eight months in a row the sportsbook has reached a win of at least $10 million.

The BetMGM sportsbook closely followed with a 9.75% win rate, claiming $5.7 million in gross revenue from $58.1 million in online handle.

The competitive edge is further highlighted by Caesars and ESPN BET, with the former edging out the latter in handle by a narrow margin. Caesars had a 4.71% win rate, with $1.2 million in gross revenue and a $25.1 million handle. However, ESPN BET nearly doubled its gross revenue with an 8.65% win rate, claiming $2.2 million on a handle of $25.1 million.