The Michigan Gaming Control Board reported online casino gross gaming revenue of $150.6 million for the month of May on Tuesday, the second straight month of declines since a record $171.8 million was generated in March.
The year-over-year figure, however, was 18.2% higher than the $127.4 million reported for May 2022. Gross revenue has topped $150 million in five of the last six months, with March’s record haul the lone month over $160 million. May’s figure represented a drop of 5.5% from April’s total of $159.4 million.
The state’s 15 mobile sportsbooks posted gross sports wagering revenue totaling $35.2 million in May, fashioning a robust 12.2% hold from $288.3 million in handle. When adding the retail figures from earlier this month, there was more than $36.1 million in gross revenue retained from $305.3 million in sports bets, good for an 11.8% win rate.
The state collected just over $28 million from iGaming and another $1.4 million through mobile sports betting taxes. The city of Detroit saw an inflow of $7 million via internet casino levies and $642,422 from sports betting taxes. Tribal jurisdictions disbursed more than $3.4 million worth of payments to local jurisdictions from iGaming tax revenue.
Commercial casinos narrowly keep streak alive
Detroit’s three iGaming platforms — BetMGM, FanDuel, and Barstool — barely extended their streak with at least $80 million combined in gross revenue to seven months, finishing less than $700,000 above that benchmark.
MGM continues to lead the pack, finishing with $47.4 million for May — down 3.7% compared to the same period last year. BetMGM has surpassed $250 million in gross revenue for 2023 and is performing 7.7% better than the same span last year.
FanDuel slipped under $30 million for the first time since February, finishing less than $48,000 shy of the mark. Its figure this year, however, was 49.2% higher than May 2022, and its year-to-date gross revenue of $153.8 million is running 52.8% ahead of last year’s total.
Barstool’s gross revenue tumbled 12.6% versus 2022’s total to $3.3 million. Its month-over-month decline was slightly better at 11.8%, but the $18.9 million in gross revenue for the first five months of 2023 is 16.9% off last year’s total.
The iGaming gross revenue gap between Detroit’s three casinos and the 12 tribes again narrowed in May, with the two groups separated by approximately $10.8 million compared to $13.3 million in April. The tribes totaled $69.9 million, up 28.8% from last year but down 4.3% versus April.
DraftKings continues to be the pacesetter for tribal internet casino wagering, as the mobile arm of Bay Mills finished just shy of $27 million in gross revenue. While that was down 3.8% from April, its year-over-year trajectory nearly mirrors FanDuel’s with a surge of 51.4% compared to May 2022. DraftKings’ year-to-date revenue has also risen 42% to nearly $139.8 million.
The Pokagon Band had its second-highest monthly revenue total of nearly $3.7 million, coming within $114,000 of its record $3.8 million generated in March. It had a 7.2% bump in revenue from April as it cleared $3 million for the sixth consecutive month.
Mobile sportsbooks join nationwide rout
Wolverine State mobile sportsbooks maintained the status quo nationwide for May, helping Michigan make it 18 states out of 18 with double-digit holds for overall revenue reports. It was the third straight month the 15 mobile operators had a gross revenue hold exceeding 10%, as gross revenue dipped only 3% compared to April despite a 10.7% drop in handle.
FanDuel extended its streak of double-digit holds for mobile betting to 11 months, with the 17.6% win rate in May its second-highest in that span. The online juggernaut kept close to $17.6 million of the $99.7 million wagered, as its all-time online handle in Michigan narrowly eclipsed $3 billion.
DraftKings narrowly missed posting its first back-to-back months with double-digit holds in Michigan, landing at 9.95% to claim more than $7.8 million in gross revenue from $78.8 million handle. BetMGM posted an 11% or higher win rate for the third straight month, with the 13.7% hold for May its best since a 22.4% hold when mobile sports betting launched in January 2021. BetMGM’s gross revenue of more than $6.3 million was nearly flat compared to April, but the hold was more than two percentage points higher, as handle slacked 16.1% to $46.2 million.
Caesars Sports was one of the few books to post a month-over-month gain in handle, rising 7.2% to $25.1 million, but it barely broke even with a gross revenue haul of less than $90,000 for an 0.4% hold. Its adjusted gross revenue was minus-$305,423 for the month, the first time since last June it posted a negative AGR. Barstool Sportsbook‘s sports wagering revenue more than tripled compared to April, reaching $1.3 million as its 8.5% hold was up nearly six full percentage points to offset an 8.3% decline in handle to $15.4 million.
FireKeepers was the only mobile book to post a gross revenue loss for May, as bettors came out $23,219 to the good from $912,071 wagered. FireKeepers has posted losses in five of the last eight months, with the book down $134,727 from $14.4 million handle in that span. It has grossed just under $114,000 thus far in 2023, posting a 1.6% hold from nearly $7 million in accepted wagers.
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