Michigan Sports Betting Hits A New High Of $46M Total Bets In October

Written By Matt Schoch on November 10, 2020Last Updated on April 26, 2024
michigan sports betting

A full month of the NFL and the return of the Big Ten helped Michigan sports betting break records in October, as Detroit’s three casinos accepted $46.1 million in sports bets.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board released the record numbers on Tuesday, as Greektown Casino, MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino earned $7.6 million in revenue from sports betting.

The numbers were up 38% from September when $33.5 million in sports bets were placed in Detroit, the previous record. In all, nearly $96 million has been wagered on sports in Detroit since March’s launch of retail sports betting.

Sports betting in Detroit has netted Michigan $531,316.05 in tax revenue this year. Detroit has collected $649,386.28 in taxes for the city.

Sports betting launched in March at Detroit’s three retail sportsbooks. In addition, 11 tribal casinos statewide have opened sportsbooks, though they are not required to submit numbers to the MGCB.

Online sports betting should launch in Michigan soon. Check out our live blog for more updates.

MGM still leads the way in Motown

MGM’s BetMGM Sports Lounge again took the most bets, earning 45% of market share with a $20.9 million handle. FanDuel Sportsbook at MotorCity Casino was next at $15.3 million in sports bets, 33% of handle. The Greektown Sportsbook was third with $9.9 million in wagers, 21% of handle.

Licensee Handle Revenue State Tax Local Tax
MGM Grand $20,937,944 $3,713,953 $140,387 $171,585
MotorCity $15,275,774 $2,197,485 $83,065 $101,524
Greektown $9,907,106 $1,685,535 $63,713 $77,872
Grand Traverse ? ? $0 $0
Hannahville ? ? $0 $0
Little River ? ? $0 $0
Little Traverse Bay ? ? $0 $0
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish ? ? $0 $0
Nottawaseppi Huron ? ? $0 $0
Pokagon ? ? $0 $0
Total $46,120,824 $7,596,972 $287,166 $350,980

The numbers lined up with the year-to-date figures neatly, suggesting that the market has settled, for now.

For the year, MGM’s $43.7 million in handle leads the market at 46%. MotorCity is second with $33.6 million in bets for 35%, and Greektown’s $18.7 million in bets was 20% of the market.

However, online sports betting could shift things, as could the launch of Greektown’s permanent Barstool Sportsbook, scheduled to launch this month.

MGM leads overall casino revenue, too

As for overall casino revenue, the three casinos combine for $101.4 million, down 18.9% from October 2019. The casinos are at 15% capacity restrictions because of the pandemic.

MGM Grand Detroit again led the way with $37.8 million in revenue, down 22.7% from a year ago. MotorCity was next at $36.3 million, and Greektown had $19.7 million in gaming revenue.

The three Detroit casinos paid $7.6 million in taxes to the state in October compared with $9.4 million for the same month last year. The casinos paid $11.2 million in taxes and development agreement payments to the city of Detroit.

In other news, the three casinos also had their licenses renewed for another year by the MGCB at its regular meeting on Tuesday morning.

Fantasy contests raised record $3 million in September

For the first time, fantasy contests earned more than $3 million in monthly revenue for September, netting the state a record $253,448.97 in tax revenue.

DraftKings has edged rival FanDuel in revenue each month since the companies became Michigan taxpayers this year.

DraftKings took in $1.6 million in revenue and paid over $135,000 in taxes. FanDuel had $1.2 million in revenue and contributed over $100,000 in monthly taxes for the first time.

Fantasy Football Players Championship stayed in third with more than $95,000 in revenue and $8,000 in taxes paid.

In 2020, fantasy contests had over $10.2 million in revenue, paying more than $850,000 in taxes.

Photo by AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
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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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