Michigan Sportsbooks Generate $228.5 Million in Wagering Handle for August

Michigan’s sports betting financial decline did not stop in August, but there was a bit of a silver lining. This time, the wagering handle decrease year-over-year was a mere 300K difference. And, of course, the industry in the Wolverine State has seen worse this year. Besides, there was a revenue growth compared to July 2023 even though the industry did better in August 2022.

As it stands, Michigan is on the edge of crossing $1 billion in lifetime sports betting revenue. This would make it the eighth month to achieve this milestone. However, compared to its iGaming counterpart, sports betting in Michigan doesn’t seem to be living up to its billing yet.

August was officially the first month since FOX Bet ceased operations in Michigan. This development brought Michigan’s sports betting industry down to 14 sportsbooks and the impact was barely noticeable. Michigan online sportsbooks brought in a revenue of $23.2 million which was clearly more than the gross receipts generated in July 2023 ($22.5 million) when FOX Bet was active.

However, the revenue from August 2022 was significantly higher than this year’s. Back then, the state saw a combined sports betting revenue of $25.6 million. In August 2023, combined revenue from retail and online sportsbooks in the state stood at a total of $23.5 million.

Joint online casino revenue from year to date still continues to outpace the first eight months of 2022. The current total revenue for 2023 is $236.3 million, 11% more than $212.9 million recorded for the same period in 2022.

There are no plans yet from Flutter to replace FOX Bet operations. However, it can safely be assumed that the introduction of a new online sportsbook will bring subsequent growth to the industry in coming months.

The total bets wagered in August 2023 was worth $228.5 million, with $218.5 million of that figure coming from Michigan online sportsbooks. On a month-on-month basis, the handle grew by 9.4%, which was quite remarkable considering that wagering handle has been on a steady decline since April 2023.

Betting handle had also been dropping constantly on a year-over-year basis. However, August turned out to be a slightly better month than the rest with the lowest decline margin throughout 2023. At the end of August 2022, the sports betting handle stood at $229.8 million, and this year, the state recorded $228.5 million in wagering handle. This was just a 0.6% dip compared to several double-digit declines experienced since the start of the year.

Many stakeholders trace the relatively positive outing in August to the Women’s World Cup, college football and the NFL preseason. With the NFL season in full swing in September, there is an expectation that the trend will continue. Besides, the last quarter of the year has typically been Michigan’s most active period for sports betting activity.

For context, Michigan generated a whopping $1.8 billion in online handle in the last four months of 2022. This figure was 40% of the total handle generated for the year. If projections are anything to go by, it would be safe to conclude that the industry would boom in the coming months and its financial fundamentals remain rock solid.

August was the second consecutive month and the fifth time in six months that Michigan sportsbooks posted a double-digit hold. Michigan sports betting brands combined to retain 10.3% of their handle as revenue for the month. However, there was a slight but sharp decline from July’s hold of 11%.

FanDuel Sportsbook MI continued what is perhaps the finest run of any operator in Michigan sports betting history. Not only did it top betting handle with $75.9 million, but it also maintained a hold of 11.9%. This was the fourteenth consecutive month that FanDuel has posted a double-digit hold despite losing almost $1 million in 2023.

Also, in August, Caesars posted its biggest hold (11.8%) since it began operations in Michigan. Similarly, BetMGM Sportsbook Michigan clinched a double-digit hold with 10.1% to claim a revenue of $3.7 million. According to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, sportsbooks paid $1.1 million to state authorities and $383,481 to local entities.