The summertime slowdown is hitting sports betting in Michigan, but the state’s bookmakers are still pulling in more business than they were a year earlier, which may not necessarily be a good thing for their bottom line.
Numbers recently released by the Michigan Gaming Control Board show that the state's retail and online sportsbooks handled approximately $292.4 million in bets during June, about 18% less than what was wagered in May.
The last time the state's monthly sports wagering was lower than $300 million was back in August 2021, before the college and NFL football seasons kicked into gear. Even so, Michigan's handle for June 2022 managed to top that of June 2021, when total wagering amounted to around $259 million.
Holding on
Michigan currently has 15 different online sportsbooks, and the top operator by handle during June was FanDuel, with almost $79.1 million in mobile wagering. The runner-up for the month was DraftKings, with $71.7 million in handle.
Gross sports betting receipts from online sports betting were $15.4 million during June, in addition to 462,214.50 in revenue from brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. Both figures were far lower than in May, when gross revenue from online sports betting revenue was $33.5 million and retail receipts were almost $2.4 million.
The combined hold for Michigan sportsbooks during June was around 5.4%, almost half the approximately 10% win rate reported for the previous month.
After deducting free bets and other promotional play, adjusted sports betting revenue was about $5.5 million during June, down from around $24.9 million in May. Sports-betting operators also paid $328,954 in state taxes during June, in addition to $201,320 paid by the three Detroit casinos to the city in connection with their bookmaking operations.
Changing with the times
The total online sports betting handle as of the end of June in Michigan was around $2.3 billion, while gross and adjusted revenue were $167.3 million and $74.1 million, respectively. During the first half of the year, the total state tax and city tax paid due to online sports betting was a combined $7.7 million.
Retail sports betting began in Michigan in March 2020, but the state's first online sportsbooks didn't begin taking bets until January 2021.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) noted on July 14 that retail sports betting had contributed $1.7 million in education tax funding in 2020 and 2021, and that internet sports betting had provided $1.8 million in just 2021.
“Legal, regulated gaming has grown in Michigan in ways no one likely imagined in 1997,” said Henry Williams, MGCB executive director, in a recent press release celebrating the regulator's 25th anniversary. “At that time, the internet had about 130 million users, and many thought it was a passing fad. The focus was on the brick-and-mortar casinos and what they could do for the city of Detroit. Both forms of gaming have proven their worth in raising funding for Michigan’s schools.”
