Retail Sports Betting in Detroit Down by 47% in August from Previous Year

2023 has not been the best year for sports betting operators in Detroit as the industry is seriously lagging behind when compared to previous years. In August, Motor City recorded one of its worst year-over-year declines across all indicators. On the flip side, commercial gaming at Detroit casinos have been at their best, with stakeholders predicting a record-breaking year for this industry.

Hollywood Casino’s revenue was enough to secure a fine finish for Detroit, despite two other casinos experiencing a dip in revenue. Its sports betting business also generated Detroit’s largest wagering handle, despite finishing with the lowest revenue.

Sportsbooks in Detroit barely recorded $10 million in handled bets for the month of August. This figure was a sharp 46% decline from the wagering handle for August 2022. Compared to July where Detroit sportsbooks managed approximately $8 million in handled bets, August appeared to trend upwards with a $2 million increase.

However, revenue was not as impressive, especially on a year-over-year basis. Detroit sportsbooks generated only $327,291 from their total handle which is an 87.6% decrease from the previous year and a 32.5% decline from July this year.  Back in August 2022, the three sportsbooks at MotorCity gained $2.6 million between themselves. This year, they’ve only recorded a revenue greater than $1 million once in eight months.

Year to date figures put overall retail sports betting handle in Detroit at $99.8 million. This time last year, Detroit sportsbooks were up 46.8% with a total of $187.4 million. Similarly, sports betting revenue is pegged at $3.4 million, almost 70% less than the revenue generated from the first eight months of 2022.

Based on sports betting revenue, Detroit outlets paid $12,179 worth of gaming taxes to state authorities and $14,885 in taxes to the City of Detroit.

On the other side of the divide, the three Detroit casinos recorded a monthly aggregate revenue of $104.6 million from slots and table games. This figure brought the total revenue from Detroit to $104.9 million. Additionally, it saw casinos safely across the benchmark revenue of $850 million throughout from the first eight months of the year.

As it stands, Detroit casinos have made a total of $853.7 million worth of revenue from year to date, 0.8% higher than from the same period last year. MGM Grand Detroit continues to lead the revenue pack with $400.7 million in gross receipts year to date. MotorCity Casino is distant second with $258.2 million for the eight months of the year. Both of the casinos are down 1.7% and 4.7% respectively from their aggregates for the same period last year.

The revenue from commercial gaming in August was just slightly higher than that of the same period the previous year where Detroit casinos pooled $104.5 million. However, compared to July, revenue is down 2%. The three casinos ended up paying $8.5 million in state gaming taxes and $16.5 million to city authorities as wagering tax.

Hollywood Casino at Greektown seemed to have the best month of all three Detroit casinos. This is especially important as it anticipates the launch of ESPN Bet as a replacement to Barstool Casino MI. The PENN-owned establishment generated $24.4 million worth of casino revenue in August, bringing its year-to-date tally to $194.8 million. It was the only casino with a year-over-year increase both for August and on year-to-date considerations.

Its 11.7% boost from August 2022 covered up for revenue declines at both MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity. The former generated $49.5 million from slots and table games while the latter recorded $30.7 million in gaming revenue for August 2023.

Hollywood Casino also had the most betting handle of the three Detroit sportsbooks with $4.8 million. However, this could only translate to about $40K in revenue. MGM Grand Detroit had a handle of $2.4 million but ended with $85,269 in revenue while MotorCity, the operators of FanDuel Sportsbook MI, made their second big profit this year with $201,435 worth of revenue from bets amounting to $2.8 million.