Michigan Online Casinos Hold National Monthly Revenue Record for Four Hours

Online casinos in Michigan continued their fine showing in March. But as statistics from the Michigan Gaming Control Board reveal, it wasn’t just a fine showing, it was the best month ever in Michigan iGaming history. The revenue for March broke several state-wide and even national records for a few short hours.

For the first time ever, Michigan stepped up as the state with highest monthly revenue, up until Pennsylvania posted figures for March later the same day. But most importantly, online casinos in the state crossed $3 billion, achieving the feat in less time than Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Michigan online casinos broke its previous monthly revenue record of $153.7 million set in January 2023 as it posted a whopping $171.8 million in March. In March, Michigan iGaming was 15.9% above its $148 million revenue in February 2023. Besides, it also rose by a remarkable 30.4% on a year-over-year comparison to March 2022.

At the beginning of the year, Michigan maintained a four-month consecutive lifetime high in revenue, up until February when the record broke off. But with its financials for March, there’s no doubt that Michigan online casinos are experiencing their best six-month run ever.

Online casinos only became legal in January 2021, with eight operators launching the iGaming industry in the state. But since then, the industry has grown to accommodate seven more, making a total of 15 online casinos in the Great Lakes State.

For a while, there were 14 casinos after TwinSpires shut down operations. But the inclusion of new SI Casino MI has brought a slight boost to revenue that would have otherwise been absent.

Michigan casinos paid a total of $31.3 million worth of taxes to the state, while local entities took payments worth $11.8 million. As it stands, BetMGM Casino MI remains the state leader in terms of revenue having crossed $1 billion in lifetime earnings a few months ago.

As many as seven individual online casino operators in Michigan have also set new monthly revenue records after a brilliant run in March. The state leader, BetMGM recorded $56.2 million, its highest since inception. Had the operator not recorded $2 million more than the $48.4 million it posted in February, it would have achieved a six-month run of revenues north of $50 million.

Other casinos ending the month with fresh revenue records include FanDuel Casino MI and DraftKings Casino MI. The former operator pooled $34.2 million while DraftKings came close behind with $31.6 million, all for the month of March. Four Winds Casino MI, FireKeepers Casino Michigan and PointsBetCasino MI also brought in record revenue for March.

Interestingly, newcomer SI Casino can be said to have posted record revenue, even though March was the first full month of its operation. Sports Illustrated Casino MI recorded $2.1 million throughout March from online slots and table games.

However, its former company pooled $2.2 million in March 2021. This figure still stands as the record revenue for Hannahville Indian Community since inception. There’s no question that this record will soon be long forgotten, thanks to SI’s strong start in Michigan.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the MGCB’s announcement of March’s financials was that Michigan had the highest monthly revenue in the US. However, this record did not last long as Pennsylvania posted having more just about four hours after the MGCB published its figures.

Michigan’s $171.8 million revenue was higher than New Jersey’s $165.7 million, which, coincidentally, was also a state record. Pennsylvania recorded $181.5 million in March to maintain its position as the online casino leader in the United States.

In other news, Michigan also crossed $3 billion in lifetime revenue. We reported in March that Michigan closed February with $2.998 billion in all-time revenue figures. It surely didn’t take long as the $3 billion milestone was crossed on the first day of the month.

While it took 27 months for the Wolverine State to hit $3 billion, it took Pennsylvania and New Jersey 38 months and 91 months, respectively. Without a doubt, there’s no slowing down Michigan.