March Madness Spurs $359.5 Million Month In Michigan Online Sports Betting
March Madness and Michigan sports betting couldn’t get off the ground last spring.
Both came back this year, and in a very strong way.
The annual men’s basketball NCAA Tournament returned to help boost the state’s new online sports betting market, with $359.5 million of bets placed in March over the state’s 12 platforms.
That’s a 19.1% increase over February, the state’s first full month of online sports betting.
Through 69 reported days since launch, $776.5 million in sports bets has been placed.
Since sports betting launched in March 2020 in Detroit’s casinos, Michiganders have wagered a reported $990.8 million on sports.
That figure does not include retail sports betting at tribal casinos, which do not report on-site figures. Even without tribal betting, Michigan certainly crossed the $1-billion mark early in April with MLB’s opening day and college basketball’s Final Four leading the sports calendar.
FanDuel first in handle again; Barstool’s share dropping
FanDuel Sportsbook led the market in handle, taking $107.2 million in bets, good for a 29.8% market share. BetMGM was second, with $92.6 million in handle and a 25.8% share. DraftKings was third, with $76.5 million in handle and a 21.3% share. Barstool Sportsbook had a $39.6 million handle for fourth, an 11.0% share. PointsBet rounded out the top five with $14.2 million handle, a 3.9% share.
FanDuel’s leading market share continues to inch closer to 30%, going up from 28.3% in January and 28.9% in February. Meanwhile, Barstool has slid from 23.9% in January, down to fourth place and 13.3% in February to 11.0% now in March.
Operators reported $19.0 million of adjusted revenue in March, bringing overall totals to $3.0 million since launch. A swarm of free bets and other promotions have impacted that tally.
| Licensee | Online Brand | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Revenue (GGR) | Promos | State Tax | Local Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MotorCity | FanDuel | $114,479,965 | $107,196,819 | $7,283,146 | $9,047,837 | $2,775,937 | $48,251 | $58,973 |
| MGM Grand | BetMGM | $100,116,967 | $92,629,052 | $7,487,916 | $9,575,256 | $2,328,564 | $407,873 | $280,580 |
| Bay Mills | DraftKings | $76,504,589 | $76,504,589 | ? | $6,034,906 | $2,361,940 | $0 | $0 |
| Greektown | Barstool | $49,023,572 | $39,552,903 | $9,470,669 | $5,514,877 | $1,105,579 | $165,326 | $124,131 |
| Lac Vieux Desert | PointsBet | $14,192,739 | $14,192,739 | ? | $2,241,392 | $2,277,883 | $0 | $0 |
| Grand Traverse | William Hill | $10,997,415 | $10,997,415 | ? | $1,033,670 | $906,555 | $10,678 | $0 |
| Little Traverse Bay | Fox Bet | $6,997,278 | $6,997,278 | ? | $503,063 | $365,165 | $934 | $0 |
| Little River | BetRivers | $4,769,583 | $4,769,583 | ? | $537,644 | $563,472 | $0 | $0 |
| Hannahville | TwinSpires | $3,185,744 | $3,185,744 | ? | $209,572 | $244,098 | $0 | $0 |
| Sault Ste. Marie | WynnBet | $2,249,239 | $2,249,239 | ? | $418,529 | $175,108 | $15,141 | $0 |
| Keweenaw Bay | Golden Nugget | $789,792 | $789,792 | ? | $70,649 | $67,593 | $0 | $0 |
| Pokagon | Four Winds | $385,009 | $385,009 | ? | $51,196 | $115,454 | $0 | $0 |
| Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish | ? | $0 | ? | ? | ? | $0 | $0 | |
| Nottawaseppi Huron | ? | $0 | ? | ? | ? | $0 | $0 | |
| Total | $383,691,892 | $359,450,162 | $24,241,730 | $35,238,593 | $13,287,349 | $648,202 | $463,684 |
Tax money trickling into state; free bets for customers
March’s Michigan sports betting output raised $535,930 in state tax money, bringing the overall total to $789,866 over two-plus months. That number is expectedly low, as operators are in a customer acquisition phase. They are offering lots of free bets and other promotions that they then write off.
In addition, $326,462 was raised for the city of Detroit through sports betting as part of city wagering taxes and municipal service fees.
Through 69 days, $55.1 million of gross revenue was compiled by the 12 sportsbooks, meaning $52.1 million in free bets and promotions have been handed out to customers.
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