The state of Michigan is home to one of the most profitable online betting markets in the United States. Back in late 2019, Michigan legalized online sports betting and online gambling. At the time, the very first ten casinos alongside their online partners were approved. Following the legalization of iGaming activities in the state, the state regulators and legislators spent months of 2020 on devising ways and rules to license and monitors the new iGaming platforms.
Just like in the vast majority of other states, the minimum age for sports betting and gambling in Michigan is twenty-one. In order to engage in such activities at Michigan iGaming sites, players and bettors must be situated within the borders of Michigan and they do not need to be residents of the state. In the Wolverine State, retail betting sites were launched in March last year while online and mobile sports betting sites were launched at the beginning of 2021 in January.
Today, four months after the very first online sports betting sites opened their virtual doors, online betting in Michigan generates amazing profits in terms of tax revenues to the state. The thriving sports betting industry in the state most certainly leads to strong numbers with several brands leading the way including FanDuel, BetMGM, Penn Sports Interactive, DraftKings, Golden Nugget, and PointsBet.
Online Sports Betting in Michigan off to a Great Start
According to the state’s legislation concerning the online betting industry, only licensed casinos including three commercial casinos in Detroit and twenty-four tribal casinos can legally offer online gaming activities. The very first online venues that offer such activities were launched in January. According to reports by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, the online sports betting industry in the state generated approximately USD 32 million in March 2021 in gross gaming revenues.
The same report also reveals that over USD 95 million was generated in March in gross online gaming receipts. This means that the third month of 2021 regarding the industry generated a staggering total handle of approximately USD 359 million. For the same month, adjusted gross receipts were around USD 88 million coming from online casinos in the state and around USD 19 million coming from Michigan online sports betting sites.
The twelve operators in the state also invested over USD 17.8 million in payments and taxes to the state in the third month of 2021. Around USD 17.3 million came from online casino gaming activities and approximately USD 535,000 came from sports betting.
Speaking of tax revenues, licensed online betting operators in the state pay between 20% and 28% of their adjusted gross receipts to the state. With the rising numbers especially, those associated with March gross gaming revenues, the Wolverine State will soon reach a staggering USD 1 billion in lifetime retail and online sports wagers, as people continue to make their lives easier by betting online.
Which Sportsbooks Captured the Top Spots?
Just in March, sports bettors from Michigan invested around USD 383 million on sports betting activities and over USD 359 million came from online punters. As mentioned in the previous section, over USD 32 million was accumulated in sports betting revenues. Since the very first sports betting sites launched at the beginning of 2021, bookies paid over USD789,000 in taxes at the 8.4% rate. When it comes to the leaders, FanDuel remains the winner considering it took in almost 30% percent of all online wagers and accumulated over USD 107 million in sports handle.
- FanDuel
- BetMGM
- DraftKings
- Penn National
BetMGM is situated in second place with a sports handle of USD 92 million which accounts for over 25% of all online wagers. DraftKings is the third-placed with a sports handle of USD 76 million that accounts for 21% of all online wagers followed by Penn International’s Barstool Sportsbook with a March sports handle of over USD 39 million.