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Mixed February sees MI sports betting revenue fall as igaming increases

News

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has reported a 171.8% month-on-month increase in igaming revenue in February, though revenue from sports betting in the US state slipped 28.6%.

Total gross receipts from online gambling for the month amounted to $89.2m, more than double the $42.7m reported in January.

However, as Michigan only opened its online gambling market on January 22, operators were only able to offer such services for the last 10 days of January.

Revenue from online sports betting dropped from $13.3m in January to $9.5m in February.

Players staked a total of $301.9m on sports wagering in February, an increase of 162.1% on the $115.2m bet in January, but as players won more, this pushed revenue down month-on-month.

MGM Grand Detroit and its BetMGM sportsbook claimed top spot in this market, posting $5.3m in revenue off of $75.7m in total wagers, while Greektown Casino, with its Barstool Sportsbook product, ranked second with $1.9m in revenue and a handle of $40.2m.

Interestingly, MotorCity Casino, with a FanDuel sportsbook, had the highest handle of all operators, taking a total of $87.2m in bets during February, but turned a loss of $78,9889 for the month.

Operators paid $142,239 in tax during the month.

However, despite declines within the sports betting sector, revenue from online gaming reached $79.7m, up from $27.5m in the January opening period.

MGM Grand Detroit was the market leader in terms of igaming revenue, posting $26.9m in gross receipts. MotorCity Casino followed with $16.6m, then the Bay Mills Indian Community with $14.5m.

The state collected $14.0m in taxes from online gaming activities in February, up from $4.3m in January.

For the year-to-date, overall online gambling revenue stood at $131.9m, with $22.8m coming from sports betting and $109.1m igaming.

In terms of land-based activity, revenue from the three commercial casinos in Detroit, Michigan, reached $86.4m in February.

Sports wagering produced a $77,627, with no prior-year comparisons as retail sports betting only became legal in March 2020. Handle for the month reached $23.7m

Greektown Casino led the market with $114,814 in adjusted gross receipts, but MGM recorded an $8,761 loss, and MotorCity a $183,680 loss.

Fantasy sports revenue amounted to $2.2m and paid taxes of $186,699 for January.

Meanwhile, land-based table games and slot revenue fell 29.0% year-on-year to $86.5m, with casinos still having to operate at limited capacity due to ongoing novel coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions.

MGM’s gaming revenue fell 34.6% to $34.4m, MotorCity 22.9% to $31.2m, and Greektown 27.3% to $20.8m.