Steady As She Goes: Detroit Casino Revenue Remains Consistent

The retail casino capital of Michigan has been consistent in 2019. Detroit casino revenue for May stayed steady.

The latest monthly report posted by the Michigan Gaming Control Board shows a slight increase at all three Detroit facilities.

Detroit casino revenue details for May 2019

According to the report, the three Detroit casinos took in $125.7 million in May. Not all three facilities were equal in their contributions, however.

MGM reported $54.4 million in aggregate revenue. MotorCity took in $41.9 million. Greektown accounted for the other $29.4 million.

All three of those numbers were a slight improvement from the same figures in April.

Revenue holding steady for Michigan casinos

The total aggregate revenue from all three casinos in May was up a half-million dollars over April’s total of $125.2 million.

Greektown continues to hover at the bottom. Greektown reported the smallest amount of revenue for both May and April. Greektown’s revenue, however, was up 0.3% from $29.3 million in April.

May saw a 3.8% improvement for MGM as compared to April. MGM reported $52.4 million in revenue in April.

Compared to April, May was a worse month for MotorCity. May’s revenue fell 3.6% compared to the $43.5 million it posted in April.

MotorCity saw its market share decrease by two percentage points in May as compared to April, with both Greektown and MGM each picking up a point. MGM accounted for 43% of the market in May.

MotorCity was responsible for 33% of the market share while Greektown filled in the other 24%.

In May of 2018, Detroit’s casinos took in a total revenue of $124.6 million. May 2019 was, therefore, an increase of 0.9%.

Greektown saw the most growth year-over-year in May. Its revenue was up 2.4% from May of last year.

Both MGM and MotorCity saw only fractional increases from May 2018. MGM rose 0.1% while MotorCity was up 0.9%.

The theme of consistency applies to the cumulative year as well. Revenue through the first five months of 2019 is 1.5% higher than it was in 2018.

As aggregate revenues have stayed steady, so has tax revenue for the city of Detroit and the state.

Gaming tax revenues for Detroit and the state of Michigan

In May of this year, the three Detroit casinos paid $10.2 million to the state of Michigan in gaming taxes. That’s up from $10.1 million (1%) in May 2018 and April 2019.

The same facilities paid $14.97 million to the city in taxes and development agreement payments in May. That number is up 0.5% from $14.9 million in April.

While that’s a comprehensive snapshot of how Detroit casinos fared in May of 2019, the wait goes on for a total picture of May 2019 in all of the state’s gambling.

What about tribal casinos and racetracks?

Detroit casinos are required to file monthly reports with the Michigan Gaming Control Board, but that isn’t the case for the state’s tribal casinos and racetracks.

Tribal gaming facilities are only required to file annual reports with the board. The same goes for the state’s racetracks. How those facilities are currently faring won’t be known until early 2020.

Michigan casino revenue and gaming taxes could both increase if Michigan sports betting becomes legal. Until then, however, revenue and taxes are holding steady through May of this year.