Detroit casinos record $82.8M revenue in October amid strike challenges

Detroit's three casinos collectively reported monthly aggregate revenue (AGR) of $82.8 million for October. This figure includes $81.7 million from table games and slot machines, plus $1.1 million from retail sports betting. MGM Grand Detroit led the market share with 46%, followed by MotorCity Casino with 31%, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown with 23%.

Compared to 2022, there was a 19.5% decrease from the $102.8 million earned during the same month that year. October's revenue was also down 18.5% from the $101.6 million recorded in September of this year. This reduction is partly attributed to the impact of ongoing strikes, which affect the financial performance of the casinos.

Casino workers on strike

The revenue from table games and slot machines in October 2023 saw a decline of 18.9% compared to October of the previous year. Moreover, this revenue was 18.3% lower than that recorded in September 2023. The period from January 1st to September 30th witnessed a 1.3% decrease in revenue from these sources compared to the same period in the previous year.

A detailed analysis reveals reductions in monthly gaming revenue for all casinos compared to October 2022: MGM's earnings fell 19.6% to $37.3 million, MotorCity's dropped 22.8% to $25 million, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown decreased by 11.7% to $19.4 million.

The three casinos paid $6.6 million in gaming taxes to the State of Michigan in October, a decrease compared to the $8.2 million paid in the same month last year. Additionally, they contributed $10.1 million in betting taxes and development agreement payments to the city of Detroit.

The casinos also reported an $18.1 million handle in retail sports betting, resulting in a total gross revenue of $1.1 million for October. Qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) from retail betting experienced a sharp decline of 46.3% compared to October 2022 and a drop of 28.6% compared to September 2023.

The individual QAGR numbers for October were $365,705 for MGM, $669,028 for MotorCity, and $90,430 for Hollywood Casino at Greektown. The casinos paid a total of $42,531 in gaming taxes to the state and remitted $51,982 in betting taxes to the city of Detroit based on sports betting revenue.

For their part, fantasy contest operators reported total adjusted revenue of $2.1 million in September, with taxes amounting to $178,346. From the beginning of the year until the end of September, these operators declared $16.8 million in aggregate adjusted revenues from fantasy contests, resulting in $1.4 million in taxes.

Sports betting app boycott

In addition to strikes at the properties, Detroit casino unions have initiated a digital advertising campaign urging for a boycott of sports betting platforms FanDuel (Motor City Casino), ESPN Bet and Hollywood iCasino (Hollywood at Greek Town), and BetMGM (MGM Grand Detroit). The campaign encourages sports fans to refrain from placing bets until there is a resolution on worker wages and benefits, and until the ongoing strike is resolved.