DraftKings Overtakes FanDuel As Michigan’s Leading Sports Betting Operator In August

Written By Matt Schoch on September 16, 2021
DraftKings Michigan Sports Betting Handle August September 2021

DraftKings Sportsbook is the new, well, king of Michigan sports betting operators. For August, at least.

(Sorry, not sorry that we went there.)

Anyway, in a first in Michigan, DraftKings took the top spot away from FanDuel Sportsbook for the month, according to numbers released Thursday by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. FanDuel had led every previous month since the Jan. 22 launch of Michigan online sports betting.

DK took $61.4 million in online sports bets last month, good for a 31.9% market share of an overall $192.3 million total bet online. That DraftKings mark topped the $47.7 million for FanDuel (24.8% share). BetMGM Sportsbook was third at $43.7 million (22.7% share). The trio are well ahead of the state’s 11 other sports betting operators.

The August numbers were aided by the return of a sprinkling of regular-season college football games, as well as preseason NFL football action. August saw a 2.3% uptick in online sports betting handle from the $188.0 million wagered in July.

August total pushes Michigan over $2 billion wagered in 2021

When added with sports wagers at Detroit casinos, players have now wagered more than $2 billion on sports in Michigan this year.

August’s online haul brought the yearly total to $2.07 billion of handle when combined with sports bets made at the downtown Detroit casinos.

Since the Jan. 22 launch of online sports betting, $1.88 billion in sports bets has been placed via mobile means in Michigan through August. In addition, $187.1 million in sports bets have been placed at Greektown Casino, MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino.

In August, Michigan online sports betting operators contributed $540,706 in state taxes and payments, and $216,699 in taxes and fees to the city of Detroit.

Licensee Online Brand Total Handle Online Handle Retail Handle Revenue (GGR) Promos State Tax Local Tax
Bay Mills DraftKings $61,366,232 $61,366,232 ? $4,382,519 $2,219,687 $181,678 $0
MotorCity FanDuel $50,816,224 $47,654,287 $3,161,937 $5,044,800 $1,558,844 $200,088 $133,398
MGM Grand Detroit BetMGM $47,997,913 $43,668,283 $4,329,630 $4,711,482 $1,887,219 $148,261 $113,771
Greektown Barstool $21,931,297 $13,134,693 $8,796,603 $1,307,139 $220,786 $52,003 $45,762
Grand Traverse Caesars $10,025,422 $10,025,422 ? $162,383 $733,580 $0 $0
Lac Vieux Desert PointsBet $6,193,759 $6,193,759 ? $939,617 $856,378 $0 $0
Little River BetRivers $3,138,513 $3,138,513 ? $236,884 $97,977 $0 $0
Little Traverse Bay Fox Bet $2,494,696 $2,494,696 ? $328,911 $78,362 $21,046 $0
Nottawaseppi Huron FireKeepers $1,105,872 $1,105,872 ? $109,987 $100,123 $0 $0
Hannahville TwinSpires $1,004,706 $1,004,706 ? $109,846 $104,897 $0 $0
Sault Ste. Marie WynnBet $883,496 $883,496 ? $95,820 $70,638 $0 $0
Keweenaw Bay Golden Nugget $668,503 $668,503 ? $3,049 $40,817 $0 $0
Pokagon Four Winds $483,992 $483,992 ? $16,666 $261,754 $0 $0
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Play Gun Lake $455,331 $455,331 ? $87,231 $99,325 $0 $0
Total $208,565,955 $192,277,785 $16,288,170 $17,536,332 $8,330,386 $603,077 $292,931

Caesars up, Barstool down as football kicks off

Caesars Sportsbook had a great boost after rebranding from William Hill in early August. The book was fifth with $10.0 million of handle, a jump of 32.9% from July.

Meanwhile, Barstool Sportsbook stayed relatively steady with $13.1 million in sports bets, fourth place in the market and down just 3.6% from July. After slightly gaining month-over-month market share in July for the first time, Barstool dipped again in August, dropping from 7.2% in July to 6.8% this month.

These are two brands we’ll be following closely in September as football really hits its stride.

Photo by Charles Krupa/AP file
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Matt Schoch

A Michigan native, Matt has worked at newspapers in Michigan, Missouri and the Virgin Islands. A versatile sports reporter, Matt has covered sailing on the Great Lakes, cricket in the Caribbean, high school and pro playoffs, and the Olympics in Rio. He’s also the former host of the Locked On Pistons Podcast and producer of a documentary on Emoni Bates. A former blackjack dealer, Matt has studied the industry from all sides.

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