The Wolverine State made it back-to-back months with $600 million handles.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board reported that $601.6 million was wagered in January on the heels of a deep NFL playoff run by the Detroit Lions and a college football national championship win for the Michigan Wolverines.
The January handle from online and retail sportsbooks was down nearly 2% from the previous month but up 22.5% year-over-year.
Sportsbooks benefited from the extra business created by popular in-state sports teams. The Lions didn’t cover the spread against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round and lost in the NFC Championship Game to the San Francisco 49ers but did cover to cut into the sportsbooks’ win rate.
An 8% hold produced gross revenue of $48.1 million, down 27% from December but up 43% from January 2023.
Wolverine State’s online operators paid out $1.3 million in taxes. Three Detroit casinos sent $614,400 to the city from sports betting revenue.
FanDuel sets new high
Online sports betting accounted for $577.1 million of Michigan's total handle.
FanDuel led mobile operators in Michigan with a handle of $214 million while enjoying a 12.5% hold. The $26.7 million in gross revenue is an all-time high for FanDuel and marks the second consecutive month over $20 million.
DraftKings finished second with a handle of $166.8 million with a hold nearly half of FanDuel’s.
BetMGM generated a handle of $73.2 million while ESPN BET reached $52.2 million. Caesars rounded out the top five operators with $37.5 million in wagers.
Retail sportsbook MotorCity, which is partnered with FanDuel, produced a handle of $9.8 million to edge out ESPN BET’s Greektown Casino and their $9.1 million in wagers.
iGaming record…again
January marked another record-setting month for iGaming, which grossed $181.9 million in revenue. That topped December’s previous high by $500,000.
Adjusted receipts showed that online casinos made $164.2 million in profits. Operators paid out $30 million in taxes to the Wolverine State.
