Golden Nugget Michigan Racking Up $2M A Day In Casino Wagers

As far as Golden Nugget online casino is concerned, the Great Lakes State should have a stronger superlative than “great” attached to it. Not yet three weeks after legal online gambling started in Michigan, the Golden Nugget app and website are already raving about the market.

Earlier this week, Golden Nugget shared details from the past calendar year. In that report was a nugget (pun absolutely intended) about how well the iGaming product is performing in MI so far. In short, it’s a gold mine.

More on Golden Nugget online casino in Michigan

Obviously, Golden Nugget casino didn’t operate online in Michigan in 2020. Legal online gambling didn’t start until a couple weeks ago on Jan. 22. Regardless, Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) President Thomas Winter shared his thoughts on MI.

“We are thrilled to be live in Michigan and are optimistic on the revenue opportunity,” Winter said in a press release.

“We have just launched our marketing campaign and are already recording close to $2 million dollars in daily casino wagers. Michigan is embracing online gaming at a rapid pace, and we anticipate that our business in the Great Lakes State will exceed our earlier expectations.”

Winter’s figure of $2 million in daily handle doesn’t include any sportsbook wagering. Michiganders should get more details on how GNOG is performing there soon. The Michigan Gaming Control Board should release figures for January 2021 soon.

Nine other online gambling brands went live on Jan. 22 besides GNOG. Since then, Fox Bet Sportsbook and PokerStars Casino also launched in Michigan. We won’t know how GNOG is doing in terms of market share until we get the MGCB report.

What seems certain, however, is that 2021 should be an even better year for GNOG than 2020. MI will be a big part of the reason why.

If GNOG thought 2020 was great, wait until it sees 2021

Overall numbers from all markets for the brand looked strong. GNOG is the market leader for online casino in its home state of New Jersey, which helped it achieve:

• Total revenue of around $91 million, up 63% from 2019
• Operating income of almost $24 million, an increase of 38% from 2019

The other big event for GNOG that took place in 2020 was taking the company public. Obviously, it won’t be able to replicate that in any future years. However, as the market for online casinos in Michigan matures, it could have an even bigger effect on GNOG’s financials.

It’s uncertain exactly how much of the population in MI and surrounding states joined in the online gaming fun. If that percentage is low, then there’s a lot of room for growth in that $2 million daily casino wagers Winter spoke of.

While it’s possible that the Indiana legislature may legalize online casino this year, it’s also no guarantee that the products will actually roll out in 2021. There’s no push to legalize iGaming or online sports betting in Wisconsin in 2021 at all.

By the end of this year, GNOG could be looking at total revenue topping $200 million. Expansion into new markets, especially one as obviously hungry for its products as Michigan appears to be, will be a significant factor in achieving that milestone.