With a year gone by since Michigan began allowing online betting, operators in the state can look back on what has been a strong opening for the industry. The state’s monthly handle doubled in size from the year’s opening months to its closing months.
Altogether, handle for the year reached $3.56bn, leading to $1.3m in state and local tax revenue.
As with elsewhere in the country, online sports betting revenue was the biggest pillar of growth: the state’s betting handle grew by 60% over the course of 2021, from $301.9m in February to $514.7m by December. Indeed, the last three months of the year, Michigan was either just shy of the half a billion mark or just over it.
A fecund habitat for sportsbooks, no fewer than 14 are active in the Great Lakes State, among these being the big national names, such as DraftKings, BetMGM and FanDuel. In addition to allowing mobile betting, there is retail as well, with the action here concentrated at Detroit’s three recently-opened casinos as well as twelve tribal operators.
The most successful casino of the year was the Motor City Casino, which operates in partnership with FanDuel Sportsbook Michigan. Its online revenue reached $993m. This was followed by the MGM Grand Detroit (which saw $828m), Greektown Casino/Penn National Gaming (350.5), and Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel/William Hill (192.6m).
Analysts are excited for what the future holds. The market is due to expand in 2022: currently the Michigan Gaming Control Board is at work finalizing a multi-state power agreement which would allow residents to play online poker with people in other states.
