Year-to-date Michigan online casino revenue is on pace to reach $1 billion by the end of the month. Last year, it didn’t hit that milestone until December.
MichiganSharp projects the state’s final gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 2024 will exceed $1.6 billion if the current rate of year-on-year growth continues.
That’s $500,000 more than 2021’s GGR of $1.1 billion.
Michigan Online Gambling Revenue – July 2024
Michigan online casino GGR should reach $1 billion on or around Aug. 29.
This calculation follows July 2024 revenue reports from 15 Michigan online casino operators who generated nearly $127 million in GGR, according to figures released yesterday by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB).
That’s a 41% increase over July 2021’s $92 million in GGR from 14 operators, MGCB says.
Michigan only reached its full quota of 15 authorized operators on April 14, 2024. That’s when MGCB allowed Soaring Eagle Gaming to launch its online casino and sports betting site.
By July 2021, the year-to-date GGR was $575,394,054.
Conversely, during the first seven months of 2024, GGR reached $883,638,699.
That’s $308,244,645 more online casino revenue than this time last year. It’s also close to the November 2024 year-to-date total of $992,238,791.
Michigan’s online casino growth is unmistakable and consistent. Monthly totals haven’t dipped below $121 million and rose as high as $132 million in April.
Plus, revenues tend to rise in the fall when online sports bettors cross over into online casino gambling for a change of pace. Coincidentally, online casino revenue should reach $1 billion around the start of the college football season.
The Battle for Market Share
Jersey City, NJ-based operator BetMGM Casino debuted at No. 1 on Launch Day and hasn’t missed a step since. During July, its GGR surpassed $48 million. That’s nearly 38% of the entire month’s GGR.
BetMGM, a joint venture between Las Vegas-headquartered MGM Resorts International and Isle of Man-based Entain, has market access through MGM’s land-based casino, the MGM Grand Detroit.
However, it’s not the only online gambling operator with brand recognition.
FanDuel Casino, which is in the No. 3 Michigan online casino revenue spot at nearly $19 million, is known for FanDuel Sportsbook. The online sports betting facet of the New York-based operator is No. 1 in the US for sports betting market share.
No. 2, DraftKings Casino, comes in at more than $19 million. However, the Boston-headquartered operator owns Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG), which generated more than $6 million in GGR. Their combined revenue amounts to more than $25 million but is still half that of BetMGM.
Other standout Michigan online casino operators in July 2024 are:
Why Michigan Online Casino Revenue Increases Matter
Michigan launched its online casino, poker, and sports betting marketplace on Jan. 22, 2021.
By that time, it was clear how much tax revenue the state could lose when schools and businesses shut down. The shutdowns happened due to the coronavirus pandemic. Because of it, Detroit’s retail casinos alone had to close their doors from 3 p.m. on March 16, 2020, through July 2020.
In March 2024, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan credited online gambling revenue with helping offset the city’s losses during the pandemic.
Now that retail casinos and other Michigan businesses are open again, online gambling operators and land-based casinos are seeing rising revenues.
Plus, as MGCB reported yesterday:
The operators submitted $24.9 million in taxes and payments to the State of Michigan during July, including:
• Internet gaming taxes and fees: $24.1 million
• Internet sports betting taxes and fees: $815,409
Michigan’s online casino revenue rivals that of other major regulated states. In fact, it surpassed Pennsylvania’s total for the first time this month.
It has also significantly contributed to overall US online gambling revenue, the all-time total for which has just exceeded $20 billion this month.
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