The Michigan Gaming Control Board reported on Tuesday internet casino revenue of $151 million for the month of June, a number nearly identical to May’s as the figure exceeded $150 million for the sixth time in the last seven months.
June’s total was a modest 0.3% increase from May’s operator revenue of $150.6 million, but June is one day shorter than May and year-over-year growth continues to be solid. The gross revenue figure was 24.3% higher compared to the same month last year, while the adjusted revenue of $136.9 million was up 25.1% from 2022. There was slightly more adjusted revenue than expected as WynnBET‘s $5.3 million in AGR came out 9.8% higher than its gross revenue of $4.8 million.
The state received $28.4 million in taxes from iCasino for June, while Detroit’s coffers had an inflow of $7.1 million. Tribal gaming operators reported a disbursement of $3.5 million. Operators paid $168.2 million in state taxes solely from iGaming for the first half of the year, $33.2 million ahead of last year’s pace.
The Wolverine State’s online sportsbooks also had a decent month, and the gap in revenue between casino and sports betting is pronounced. The mobile sportsbooks finished with a hold just over 8% to claim $18.3 million in gross revenue from $227.9 million handle. It was the first time since February that mobile sports wagering operators failed to produce an overall double-digit hold percentage.
Promotional credits and deductions reduced the amount eligible for taxation to $9.2 million for June. The state received $557,466 worth of tax receipts, while the city of Detroit got $286,569.
BetMGM has a bounce back to lead Motown iGaming
Two of Detroit’s three online casino suites posted month-over-month gains, with BetMGM shaking off May’s year-low revenue total with a 3.8% improvement to $49.2 million. The bellcow of Michigan’s iGaming operators, MGM topped the $300 million mark in gross revenue over the first half of 2023, representing a 7.1% increase from the same period last year.
Revenue from Barstool Sportsbook‘s iGaming platform was up 6.4% from May to $3.5 million, also bouncing back off a year-low. The PENN Entertainment outfit, though, has yet to find the winning formula it enjoyed the first six months of 2022 — its $22.5 million in gross revenue thus far is 16.8% off last year’s amount, and it failed to reach $4.5 million in any month after doing so three times in the first two quarters of 2022.
Though FanDuel had its third consecutive month of declining casino revenue to $29 million for June, it remains the best-performing Detroit-based iGaming platform in terms of year-over-year growth. Revenue for the online tether to MotorCity Casino surged 53.4% to $182.9 million in the first half of the year, highlighted by a record $34.2 million haul in March.
The trio’s combined $81.8 million in gross revenue accounted for 54.2% of the overall iGaming revenue in the state, roughly in line with the 54.6% total for the first six months of 2023. The $510.7 million in operator winnings is up 18.4% year-over-year.
DraftKings continued to rule the roost among tribal online tethers, with its $27.2 million in gross revenue accounting for nearly 40% of the overall $69.2 million in tribal-linked operator winnings. The mobile titan tethered to Bay Mills also enjoyed robust year-over-year revenue growth compared to the first half of 2022, with its $166.9 million this year a 43.9% increase.
BetRivers was a distant second among tribal tethers for revenue with $8.9 million, up 2% from May and within a narrow band of monthly revenue totals this year ranging from $8.2 million in February to $9.1 million in March. The mobile arm of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians reported $51.8 million in revenue for the first six months of 2023, up 1.4% from last year.
FanDuel with yet another rout of the betting public
On the sports betting side, FanDuel once more ran roughshod against the online betting public, posting a 13.7% hold as its $10.2 million in gross revenue accounted for more than half the state’s online gross revenue from sports wagering. It has been a 12-month period of unprecedented dominance by the marketplace leader — FanDuel had an eye-watering 14% win rate in that span, collecting $195.4 million in gross revenue from $1.4 billion worth of accepted bets.
BetMGM‘s run of double-digit holds failed to extend to a fourth month, as bettors kept it close to the industry standard of 7%, resulting in $2.9 million in gross revenue from $41.9 million. Promotional credits and deductions left the state eligible to tax just 9.2% of that amount, which came to less than $270,000.
Bettors also turned the tide against DraftKings in June, limiting it to a 3.2% hold — its lowest in a calendar year — as operator winnings totaled just $2.1 million in gross revenue. Like BetMGM, a substantial chunk of that revenue went untaxed due to promotional play and other deductions, and DraftKings paid taxes on less than $300,000 of that amount.
Caesars Sportsbook was held under a 6% hold for the fifth straight month, landing at 5.1% to claim $900,000 from $17.8 million handle. It has not hit the industry standard since posting a 9.8% win rate to close out 2022.
In contrast, PointsBet topped 8% for the fourth month in a row, reaching 8.7% to keep $388,000 of the $4.4 million in accepted wagers. The Aussie-based book, still finalizing a deal to for its U.S.-based operations to be acquired by Fanatics, cleared $4 million in gross revenue for the year with June’s total.
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