Michigan sportsbooks take record-breaking $532.7M in wagers in January, driven by online

According to the monthly report from the Michigan Gaming Control Board, Detroit’s three casinos collected $100.9 million in revenue in January. But the most significant numbers came from Michigan's online and retail sportsbooks, which tallied $532.7 million in wagering for the month. That was up 3.5% from the previous record of $514.6 million, which was generated in December. 

Online sportsbooks won $34.7 million in gross revenue in December, which was down slightly from $34.8 million in December. After promotional credits, taxable revenue for both online and retail wagering hit $21.1 million, which yielded $2.1 million in state taxes. 

After promotional credits, taxable revenue for both online and retail wagering hit $21.1 million, which yielded $2.1 million in state taxes. The state received $73,070 in taxes from retail sports betting. And the casinos submitted $89,308 in retail sports betting taxes to the city.

Sportsbooks benefited greatly in January from an additional week of NFL regular-season games, an expanded playoff, and college football's national championship game. Combined with consistent bettor interest in the NBA, it led to a record-breaking month.  

"The extra week of regular season football was a boon for sportsbooks, giving them five full weekends of football in January," said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayMichigan.com. "As the only state with five consecutive months of record wagering, no state has capitalized on this football season more than Michigan."

FanDuel edged DraftKings with $132.7 million in online wagers, up from $119.9 million in December. Those bets generated a market-best $12.3 million in gross revenue. DraftKings followed with $132.03 million in bets, up from $120.3 million in December. That resulted in $5.9 million in gross revenue. Those wagers yielded $10.9 million in gross receipts. 

BetMGM was third, accepting $110.9 million in online wagers, up from $108.7 million in December.

"FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM remain in a tight battle for market share," said Matt Schoch, lead analyst for PlayMichigan.com. "Each continues to pour significant investment into Michigan, showing that this is still one of the prized markets in the U.S."

Detroit casinos

At land-based commercial casinos, table games and slots generated $98.97 million in revenue while retail sports betting produced $1.93 million. Online sportsbooks accepted a record $496.8 million in wagers in January, up 2.5% from $484.6 million in December.

For the month, MGM Grand Detroit had a 49% market share while MotorCity Casino Hotel had a 30% and Greektown Casino had a 21%.

Revenue tied to table games and slots was up 14% year-over-year but down 11.1% from December. The casinos were operating at limited capacity in January 2021 due to pandemic-related restrictions. 

Meanwhile, the total sports betting handle at Detroit casinos was $35.87 million for the month. Gross receipts tied to retail sports betting totaled $1.97 million. Qualified adjusted gross receipts fell 52.4% in January to $1.93 million compared with the same period last year, but rose 74.8% compared to December's results.