Michigan

BetMGM Michigan’s Top Performer in Online Casino Market

February 21, 2024 William Mcmaster

Michigan continued its impressive start to online gaming in May. According to numbers from the Michigan Gaming Board, online casino operators in the state raised $94.9 million for May, a figure which put the state among the best in the country. Online casino operators paid state taxes worth $18.1 million, along with $5.2 million paid as taxes to the city of Detroit and $1.9 million to tribal governments.

The total revenue gained by Michigan online casinos in May was almost unbelievably consistent with the numbers from April. The difference between both months was a slightly imperceptible $213.47 (0.0002%) drop from $94,851,765.56 to $94,851,552.09. (Michigan Gaming Control Board, 2021)

The breakdown of Michigan’s online gaming revenue for May revealed that BetMGM Online Casino led the way again, with $36.1 million gained in revenue, amounting to 38% of the total revenue. The revenue was for the most part a result of winnings from BetMGM MI Casino, but earnings from BetMGM MI Poker also contributed.

Behind BetMGM’s class-topping numbers

BetMGM’s high-performing online casino numbers for the month of May included $36,089,904 in revenue, $7,073,621 in state taxes, and $3,482,676 in local taxes. Those figures make it the second month in a row where BetMGM has held almost 40% of Michigan’s online gaming market.

Despite the pretty strong competition facing the operator – including giants FanDuel and DraftKings – BetMGM has managed to navigate its way to an undisputed top spot in Michigan’s online casino market since it launched in January.

The company experienced a drop in revenue from April, but much in the same vein as total online gaming revenue in Michigan, the difference was almost negligible. In April, BetMGM Online Casino brought in online gaming revenue of $36,813,468.11. That figure fell 1.9% in May with total revenue of $36,089,904.12.

Breakdown of BetMGM’s Revenue Since January

BetMGM’s combination of consistent promotion rollouts and a variety of casino games has seen the company take massive strides in the Michigan online casino market. Before May’s slight drop-off from May, the operator had gone from $11 million to $36 million in three months. (Michigan Gaming Control Board, 2021)

January – $11,075,980.37
February – $26,912,267.71
March – $30,792,815.02
April – $36,813,468.11
May – $36,089,904.12

It is impossible to know the exact amount online poker has contributed to these revenues, as the Michigan Gaming Control Board does not release poker revenue data away from casino revenue. However, the online gaming classification that it gives to the numbers means that revenue from BetMGM’s online poker offering must have been factored into calculations.

The first few months of online gaming in the Wolverine State have thrown up a three-way race between the top USA online casinos BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings. But with a market share percentage that’s more than double their nearest competitors, BetMGM’s hold on top spot appears almost insurmountable.

Sources

Michigan Gaming Control Board, 2021 – https://www.michigan.gov/mgcb/0,4620,7-351-79263-561862–,00.html
Michigan Gaming Control Board, 2021 https://www.michigan.gov/mgcb/0,4620,7-351-79127_82898-244408–,00.html

Michigan Online Casino v Online Sports Betting – Which Is Performing Best?

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

Michigan now has a clean slate when it comes to online gaming and sports betting, thanks to the state’s recent introduction of internet gaming. Michigan hopes to measure up against the competition, even though a few other states have been in the business for a long time. Michigan is tasked to live up to the players’ expectations and to bring Michigan’s online gambling market to a level that equates to that in other US states.

Thanks to a decline of the sports calendar in April, Michigan was among the first US states to see the first month-over-month drop-in sports betting revenue since introducing online sports betting earlier this year. Michigan is now a haven for online casinos.

The region’s online casinos and poker rooms did well in April, taking in $94.9 million, a slight decrease from March’s $95.1 million. For March, revenue per day rose to $3.16 million per day, up from $3.07 million a day in February (Michigan Gaming Control Board, 2021).

Michigan Sports Betting Lags Behind Casino

Michigan sportsbooks admitted $249.9 million in online handle in April, down 30.5 percent from $359.5 million in March, owing to a heavy reliance on regular-season baseball and NBA games to produce a play.

Michigan’s online and offline sportsbooks raised $274.2 million in bets, 91.1 percent of which were placed online when combined with the state’s $24.2 million retail handles, which were released last week. The total handle was down 28.5 percent from March’s $383.7 million in bets (Mitech News, 2021).

Michigan will remain in fifth place in the United States, behind New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, based on the overall handle. However, from the start of online sports betting on January 21 to April 30, Michigan was the first state to cross $1 billion in online wagers, with $1.03 billion (Jordyn Grzelewski , 2021).

Michigan’s sales in April should keep it close to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the country’s two largest iGaming markets, but none of those states has yet posted April results. The most significant distinction is the maturity level of the states.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board established regulations that enable players to open online gaming accounts without visiting a land-based casino. This ease of access to Michigan’s iGaming services is critical in the state’s huge industry. This is why Michigan is ahead of states such as Illinois, which require a visit to a casino in person.

Michigan Casino & Sports Betting FAQ

What age do you have to be to gamble in Michigan?

To lawfully bet in Michigan, you must be at least 21 years old.

Should I join a Michigan casino’s loyalty program?

Yes, especially since loyalty programs are free to join. They were created to give you the best experience.

References

Jordyn Grzelewski (2021). Michigan’s internet betting revenue takes off. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2021/04/20/online-bettors-wager-hundreds-millions-michigan-march-madness/7300125002/
Michigan Gaming Control Board (2021). Revenues and Wagering Tax Information. https://www.michigan.gov/mgcb/0,4620,7-351-79127_82898-244408–,00.html
Mitech News (2021). Michigan Online Gaming Revenue Gains Momentum. https://mitechnews.com/internet-technologies/michigan-online-gaming-revenue-gains-momentum/

The First Two Weeks of Legal Online Gambling in Michigan

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

After decades of missing out on the opportunity to enjoy a good sporting event or online casino game and win money from it through online bets, residents of The Wolverine State can finally participate in online gambling activities.

The State of Michigan permitted the launch of legal online gambling within its borders at noon on Friday, 22nd January 2021. The timing of this development was perfect, especially for sports betting, because of the lineup for that weekend. For instance, NFL conference championship games were live and Michigan sports bettors got to watch and place wagers.

Some people have theorized that the license to operate given to some sport betting giants in the state was done in a bid to help the gambling industry recover faster from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever the reason is, online betting statistics within the first two weeks of this launch clearly show that Michigan is well on its way to becoming one of the foremost states in the US with thriving online gaming industry.

10 online casinos and sportsbooks were approved to launch that Friday by The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), which will now regulate their activities going forward. A new round of operators was added to these the following week. Seeing how things are going, it is only expected that we’ll see more online gambling operators trooping into the market.

Industry experts predicted that there would be an impressive response from gamblers across the state after the launch. Their projection was based on the residents’ attitudes to prior legal gambling activities in the state, the time of the launch of the casinos, and the anticipation that had built up over time. Many reports have come in about the gamblers’ activities so far in Michigan and they have shown that these predictions were right.

BetMGM’s CEO, Adam Greenblatt, confirmed that the platform’s launch in Michigan was their “strongest launch yet.” BetMGM Michigan reported that over 200,000 successful logins were recorded on their platform and more than 2 million spins were seen, all within the first seven hours of being launched in the state.

However, some customers complained of problems with the BetMGM app. A representative from the company affirmed that there were glitches at some point, but it was as a result of unusually high traffic. He said that the problem was rectified the same day.

Google Trends were analyzed by Michigan Sharp, a website dedicated to the online gambling space in Michigan. They discovered that the launch of online sports betting in the state generated more interest than any previously recorded launch within the past year.

Furthermore, GeoComply, a company that facilitates geolocation tracking for many online gaming operators also announced that over 7.5 million online gambling transactions were recorded in Virginia and Michigan. Virginia has only two online operators, compared to Michigan’s ten at the time of launch, hence, the location with the higher percentage is obvious.

Since virtually every bettor in the state of Michigan would be a first-timer, there was an avalanche of bonuses being claimed on all the platforms. Bettors who could not join the thousands that flooded the Michigan online casinos and sportsbook did so the following week. Many of the operators, having had the experience of the previous week could manage them better.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has not released reports on the revenue generated so far, but they have corroborated reports of a large influx of players into the online gambling space since the Michigan online casino launch.

If you live in Michigan and are yet to jump on the wave of excitement sweeping through the Michigan online gaming world, you’re not too late. There are still loads of bonuses to be won and more than enough games and sports betting features to explore.

EXPLORE MICHIGAN CASINOS and SPORTSBOOKS HERE!

Sources:

Michigan Governor To Legalize Online Gambling In January 2021

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

One Signature Left for Interstate Poker

January brings more great news for Michigan online poker players. The state’s House of Representatives voted in approval of SB 991, which is a follow-up measure to the Lawful Internet Gaming Act. The bill is headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer‘s desk and is expected to be signed next week.

Poker players are one step closer to being able to take part in tournaments and cash games with players from other states. The bill will allow the Michigan Gaming Control Board to enter interstate compacts for online gambling.

Senator Curtis Hertel, Jr. lead sponsor of the poker measure, said that it was expected the bill would pass. The Senator also commented on how exciting it is to see Michigan being able to provide players with a stronger system.

”This is a complex package that has a lot of moving parts to it. But what it really does is provide better regulations in Michigan for gambling, and some financial resources for our schools, which is obviously needed.”

Online poker was first approved by the state in December 2019 as online casino gaming, poker, and sports betting will help bring more revenues to the state via taxes. This approval means that the board can now work with other states that have legalized online poker, such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

However, this will not open Michigan up to multistate online poker immediately. More rules and regulations had to be created along with operator vetting and licensing. The first online gambling operations out of 15 to get the green light, will start in January 2021.

Excerpt from the bill:

”The board may enter into agreements with other jurisdictions, including Indian tribes, to facilitate, administer, and regulate multijurisdictional internet gaming for poker by internet gaming operators to the extent that entering into the agreement is consistent with state and federal laws and if the internet gaming under the agreement is conducted only in the United States.”

While online gambling will likely begin in mid-January, it’s still unclear if poker will be among the first operations to begin in the state.

So what else needs to happen?

-Gov. Whitmer must sign the bill or let it become law. This will most likely happen very soon.

-The MGCB must enter a compact with other states. There is no timeframe for this just yet.

-Operators would have to go live with an expansion of interstate poker. It is unlikely that anyone would risk doing it at this point given the current Wire Act case in the federal court system.

In conclusion, while the new bill is great news, players may have to wait until they can play poker against a larger player pool, involving more than just the Michigan state residents.