The Michigan Gaming Control Board reported a monthly record internet casino gross revenue of $171.8 million for the month of March on Tuesday, as both online wagering disciplines closed out the first quarter in style.
Michigan’s previous record, established in January, was $153.7 million. But six online platforms posted record revenue amounts in March, leading to an increase of 30.5% compared to the same month last year, which was also a record at the time at $131.7 million. Last month’s total was 16% higher than February’s operator haul of $148.2 million.
The state received $31.3 million in taxes from iCasino gaming, while the city of Detroit collected $8.2 million from levies on its three commercial casinos. Tribal casinos offering iGaming disbursed nearly $3.7 million to local governments.
March was also a good month for mobile sportsbooks, which claimed $44.6 million in gross sports wagering revenue from $407.7 million handle. After promotional credits and deductions were counted, the state was eligible to tax $31.4 million in adjusted revenue, as it collected more than $1.9 million in receipts. The city of Detroit collected $866,000 in taxes from mobile sports betting for the month.
The overall handle of $421.7 million when including retail wagers was enough to make Michigan the eighth state in the post-PASPA era to surpass $10 billion in accepted wagers. Michigan reached the milestone in 33 months of wagering when not including the months when retail sportsbooks were shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
BetMGM, MotorCity lead commercial charge
Detroit’s two biggest online casino operators, BetMGM (via MGM Grand) and FanDuel (via MotorCity), set monthly highs for gross revenue.
BetMGM’s $56.2 million for March is the highest monthly revenue total of any operator in state history and continued its trailblazing ways as the first platform to reach $20 million, $30 million, $40 million, $50 million, and now $55 million. Revenue was up 17.4% compared to last March and up 16.1% from February’s winnings of $48.4 million.
FanDuel’s total of $34.2 million marked the first time it had cleared $30 million since launch. It didn’t exceed $25 million until last November and had been bumping up to $30 million in the previous three months before a 15.9% surge from February’s short-lived record of $29.5 million.
Barstool’s internet casino suite had the biggest jump in terms of month-over-month gains among the three commercial platforms, climbing 30.1% to more than $4.2 million. However, the PENN Entertainment-backed iCasino has not surpassed $5 million in gross revenue since last April and was off 17.1% from its record of $5.2 million established in March 2022.
DraftKings, operating through Bay Mills Indian Community, set a monthly revenue record for the seventh consecutive month as it also topped $30 million for the first time in Michigan. Its $31.6 million in gross revenue was 52.3% higher versus March 2022 and 17.7% better than February’s short-lived standard of $26.9 million.
The Pokagon Band, which operates its iGaming through Pala Interactive at Four Winds, had an all-time high of $3.8 million. Bally Bet, whose tether is the Nottawaseppi Huron Band at Firekeeper’s, claimed $1.9 million. PointsBet was the other online casino to post a new monthly revenue record, totaling close to $1.7 million through the Lac Vieux Desert Band.
Three other platforms — Caesars, SI Sportsbook, and Soaring Eagle — had totals that ranked second all-time in their respective monthly revenue totals.
FanDuel continues to rule mobile scene
For mobile sports wagering, FanDuel continues to be in a class by itself when it comes to revenue. The online colossus remains the only book to surpass $20 million in gross revenue, doing so for the third time after narrowly clearing that benchmark with a 13.7% hold from $146.8 million handle. It is the ninth consecutive month FanDuel has posted a win rate of 10% or better, and March’s haul pushed its all-time gross revenue in the state to over $300 million.
DraftKings was a comfortable second in both categories, climbing back into nine figures for handle at $101.2 million and posting a solid 8.7% hold to claim $8.8 million in gross revenue. BetMGM roared back after two soft months, notching a 12.7% win rate to collect $9.7 million from $76.4 million in accepted bets. Its March revenue total was $3.2 million more than its combined January and February totals.
Barstool Sportsbook enjoyed a similar bounce-back in March, collecting nearly $1.9 million in gross revenue thanks to an 8.7% hold on $21.5 million handle. The book had generated less than $50,000 in gross revenue in the first two months of 2023, while its $1.6 million in adjusted revenue wiped out a $553,000-plus deficit accrued in January and February.
Caesars Sportsbook rounded out the top five for revenue at $1.6 million and pipped Barstool for fourth in handle with $27.8 million. Though everyone finished in the black for gross revenue in March, Soaring Eagle took a loss of some $86,000 in adjusted revenue on a swing of nearly $182,000 after promotional credits and deductions were taken into account.
Though the state’s $1.27 billion in total handle through the first three months of the year is 11.5% lower compared to 2022, operators have posted an increase of 13.5% in gross revenue to $102.9 million. The 8.1% hold is nearly 1.8 percentage points higher compared to the first quarter of last year, and adjusted revenue is up 81.7% to $59.7 million. That has contributed to state taxes being $1.1 million ahead of last year’s pace.
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