Sportsbooks in Michigan Handled $357 Million in February with a 15% YoY Drop

Unlike online casinos that have maintained an upward trend for months, sports betting operators in Michigan seem to be on a downward spiral. Sportsbooks saw a two-digit percentage decline in betting handle both from a month-to-month perspective and a year-over-year comparison.

The total handle amounted to $357.2 million, including figures from retail and online sportsbooks. However, despite the general depreciation, several individual sports betting operators recorded a year-over-year growth, with FanDuel leading this pack of sportsbooks. All the financial details, including taxes are analyzed subsequently.

By all metrics, Michigan sportsbooks dropped from the rather low standards of January 2023. Online betting handle dropped by 27.5% from January’s figures while revenue dipped by 32.6%. Sports betting operators recorded a handle of $475.6 million in January, compared to the $344.9 million pooled last month. There was also a 13.4% decline from the $398.4 million handled in sports bet in February 2022.

These figures mark the highest decline ever recorded on a year-over-year basis since sports betting became legalized in Michigan. Retail sports betting could do very little to remedy the damage, as they brought the overall total handle to $357.2 million. No doubt February was a disappointing month for sportsbooks in the Great Lakes State, despite the general surge in bets for the Super Bowl.

Moving on to actual revenue, Michigan sports betting platforms recorded a total revenue of $23.1 million, with online sportsbooks contributing $22.7 million to the figures. Judging by February’s figures, it appears that the $500 million betting handle mark has remained elusive for Michigan sports betting operators.

Not all sportsbooks recorded poor figures in February. Several operators ended the months with a better year-over-year performance than they did in February 2022. One of such operators is FanDuel Sportsbook. In February, it remained the top all-time sportsbook in Michigan, both by betting handle and revenue. It also topped the figures for February as a stand-alone consideration.

The sportsbook recorded $122.7 million in betting handle, a 0.25% improvement from its $122.4 million handle in February 2022. However, on a month-to-month basis, the total revenue pooled by FanDuel dropped from $19.9 million in January to $13.9 million last month.

Other sportsbooks also had a better February this year than they did in the last. BetRivers continued to record over $8 million worth of betting handle for the fourth consecutive month in February. It posted $8.8 million last month, a figure which turned out to be its fourth highest betting handle total since inception in Michigan. Compared to January’s $11.4 million betting handle, its February total showed little promise.

However, the BetRivers Sportsbook MI handle increased by 45.1% from the $6.1 million it recorded in 2022. Similarly, Golden Nugget Sportsbook witnessed a 40.6% betting handle boom from $886.4K in February 2022 to $1.25 million in February 2023.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board also released figures for SI Sportsbook MI, the new operator replacing TwinSpires. Compared to its former brand, SI Sportsbook saw a slight 0.6% jump in handle to $1.257 million.

A lot of NFL future bets cashed in on Michigan sports betting apps. This caused several sportsbooks to take a hit on their betting hold. WynnBet Sportsbook MI posted the lowest hold with 0.1% in February 2023. Even worse, the sports betting operator recorded a meager $1,566 in gross revenue.

Similarly, betting hold decreased from 6.9% witnessed in January 2023 to 6.5%. Sports betting platforms paid $1.8 million in taxes to Michigan and another $358K to the local authorities. Barstool Sportsbook Michigan also recorded a 0.6% hold to take the position as the operator with the second lowest hold and third lowest revenue.

However, there may be high hopes for the month of March, with Michigan State University still in the contest for the NCAA’s top prize for college basketball. Should the Spartans go all the way, there’s expected to be a surge in betting handle and revenue.