Retail Casinos in Detroit Pool $118 Million, Sports Betting Falls in March

Detroit, Michigan’s largest city, is home to most of the gambling activity that goes on in the state. Despite having only three licensed and regulated operators, Detroit contributes significantly to the casino gaming and sports betting revenue of the Great Lakes state.

In recent statistics released by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, Detroit retail casinos showed an upward trend while sports betting continues an unimpressive run. Throughout March, the overall gambling revenue generated by retail operators in Detroit amounted to $119.2 million, with sports betting contributing only a small fraction of that figure.

The three retail casinos in Detroit recorded a total revenue of $117.8 million from slots and table games, with MGM Grand leading the pack. This figure brought them 12.2% above the amount they pooled in February 2023. However, compared to the same period last year, the revenue for March 2023 came short by 2.6%.

In terms of individual performance, MGM Grand Detroit came tops contributing $54 million worth of revenue to the March’s outlook. MotorCity Casino was in second place with $35.8 million while Hollywood Casino at Greektown recorded $27.6 million, a 7.5% rise from the operator’s revenue in the past year.

Inclusive of sports betting revenue, the total gambling revenue for Detroit was at a modest figure of $119.2 million. The past month shows an unimpressive decline from the $122.8 million revenue reported in March 2022.

Cumulatively, the retail casinos paid $23.5 million worth of taxes from their total revenue in March. About 60% of the total taxes went to the City of Detroit while approximately $9.5 million was paid to Michigan state authorities.

Although the year-over-year comparison for Detroit’s March 2023 figures seemed slightly poor, there was an improvement across the first three months of the year. Detroit casinos gained 3.4% more revenue in the first quarter of 2023 than they did in Q1 of 2022. The total revenue recorded for January to March 2023, comprising slots, table games and sports betting stood at $326.2 million.

In Q1 2023, MGM Grand Detroit pooled $154.7 million, a 2.5% increase from Q1 2022. Hollywood Casino at Greektown was the highest gainer as it saw its Q1 2023 figures rise by 11.5% on a year-over-year comparison basis. MotorCity Casino saw a 0.9% decline in Q1 2023 as it ended the first three months of the year with a total revenue of $97.3 million.

Detroit retail sports betting disappointed in March 2023, but this comes as no surprise considering that Michigan sports betting has also been on a declining trajectory. Retail betting handle in March was $13.9 million, a 47.2% drop from $26.3 million recorded in 2022.

Adjusted gross receipts from retail sports betting also amounted to only $1.4 million, a decline of 26.8% from the $1.9 million revenue recorded during the same period last year. Hollywood Casino at Greektown was able to gross total adjusted receipts worth $702,670 in March and over $1 million across the first quarter.

In retrospect, Hollywood Casino was the only Detroit operator to record that much in Q1 this year. MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino managed gross receipts worth $284K and $424K, respectively. All three operators paid $53,000 in betting taxes to Michigan authorities and another $65,210 to the City of Detroit.

In March, the three operators in Detroit Michigan achieved about $1 million more revenue than they pooled in February. Surely, this phenomenon can be credited to the March Madness wagering frenzy that accompanied the period.

Further, the Michigan Gaming Control Board reports that more than half of the $4 million bets were wagered on March Madness. Not just that, a majority of that over $2 million worth of bets came from just three bets.

A bettor wagered $550K on San Diego State but lost out after they were defeated by UConn. The two other bettors placed a 25K wager on a five-team parlay and a $20K bet on a six-team parlay, but both failed to hit.