Michigan’s iGaming platforms experienced their best month ever in the Wolverine State but favorable outcomes for bettors resulted in a dismal month for the state’s mobile sportsbooks.
Mixed Results
The Michigan Gaming Control Board reported that iGaming generated $244 million in revenue in December, breaking the previous record of $226 million set only a month earlier. Online casino gambling’s adjusted gross revenue for December increased by 35.9% compared to December 2023’s AGR of $219.6 million.
As witnessed in all seven states that offer iGaming, revenues from digital casinos routinely tower above sports betting profits. Last year, Michigan’s online casino gambling profits totaled a whopping $2.2 billion, with the state’s tax coffers receiving $451.4 million.
However, last month’s report on sports betting in the Wolverine State was starkly different. Due in part to the success of the state’s local entry, the Detroit Lions, which won three of its four December games and covered in two of them, the hold or win rate was a paltry 3.3%, the second lowest ever in the state, leaving the cupboards bare for the books.
2024 in the Books
December’s sports betting handle of $617.5 million was up less than 1% from the same time last year but dropped 8% from a robust November. However, due to the narrow hold, which was six points less than in November, revenues dropped to $20.5 million which was nearly 69% less than in December 2023.
Although the handle and revenues were down from December, sports betting financials were up across the board in 2024 from the previous year. Despite the disastrous December, mobile and retail sports betting’s 2024 gross revenues showed an 8.3% year-over-year increase and topped $470.2 million on a handle of $5.5 billion, a 14.6% rise over 2023’s handle, but the yearly average hold was slightly down from 9% in 2023 to 8.5% in 2024.
According to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, the state received$14.7 million in tax revenue from sports betting last year.
FanDuel Leads the Pack
The nation’s most popular sports betting platform, FanDuel, led all challengers in December, reporting a $235.5 million handle which generated $7.2 million. Despite the company topping both categories, it was a precipitous fall from November in which the handle fell $10 million from November while its revenues plummeted nearly $15 million from the previous month.
DraftKings reported $162.9 million in total wagers, the only other company to post triple digits in December, which delivered $6 million in revenues. It was a long drop to third place where BetMGM posted an $85.9 million handle leading to $3.2 million in profits.
