Mixed Results for Detroit Land-Based and Online Gaming Services in March

Summary

• Slots and table games generated $117.8m.
• Retail sports betting brought in $1.4m.
• MGM Grand Detroit held the market share at 46%.

The month of March is over, which means individual state gaming revenue reports are rolling in. The Michigan Gaming Control Board recently issued the Detroit report, showing the three land-based casinos in the city generated $119.2 million in earnings.

The majority came from slots and table games at $117.8 million. This was an almost 3% drop from last year. Retail sports betting came in at just over $1 million.

A Look at the Earnings

There are three casinos in Detroit that offer commercial casino gaming. MGM Grand Detroit took the top spot in market share for March, earning 46%. MotorCity Casino came in with 30%, followed by Hollywood Casino with 24%. Overall revenues were up for the area when compared to February earnings of $105 million.

Hollywood Casino was the only one to see a gain for the month, generating $27.6 million. This was a jump of 7.5% from the 2022 totals. MGM dropped by 2.7% to earn just over $54 million, while MotorCity dropped even more at 9% with just over $35 million.

Retail sports betting decreased considerably, dipping over 26% with $1.4 million in earnings. The monthly qualified adjusted gross receipts increased, though, by almost $1 million compared to February. The monthly betting handle came in at just under $14 million.

The revenue drops are significant for most operators and may continue as we get into the spring and summer months. As patrons spend more time outside, it means fewer visits to the casino. Online casino earnings may still be solid, as players get their gaming done from home rather than traveling to the physical properties.

It will be interesting to see if revenue earnings and market shares change over the next few months. Will the casinos in Detroit be able to see an increase in earnings, or will the dips continue?

Paying the State

From the earnings amounts, the casinos of Detroit paid $9.5 million in state taxes. This was slightly less than the 2022 payment. In March, a total of $14 million was paid in taxes and development payments to Detroit. For sports betting, taxes were paid at $53,354 to the state and just over $65,000 paid to Detroit.

Fantasy contests are also operational in Detroit. The city saw $150,424 paid in taxes after earnings of $1.8 million. Each entity that offers gaming services in the area, whether online or offline, must pay a certain amount in taxes. The money is then used to fill local and state needs.