In the crowded industry of Michigan online casinos, it’s important to get noticed.
With 15 online operators, all of which are contributing to record revenue numbers for the state, being able to distinguish yourself from the others can mean millions.
Michigan has had three operators in particular separate themselves from the rest of the pack when it comes to iGaming.
BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings have all managed to have success, but does anything differ about their approach to their customers?
Are they pushing games with lower success rates? Are they pushing exclusive games, or are they pushing table games?
Each has found their own style to try and create a unique playing experience.
What does BetMGM Casino Michigan feature?
It’s probably wise to start with the operator clearly in the No. 1 spot here in the state.
Whatever BetMGM Michigan is doing, it’s working.
BetMGM owns 36.5% of the online casino revenue share in the state, collecting $1.2 billion for its lifetime.
When logging into BetMGM, each customer is likely to see a little bit of a different homepage based on their previous experiences with the operator.
As a regular BetMGM user for its sportsbook and casino, I tend to use my desktop when logging on.
What I saw was a selection of banner advertisements across the top (pictured above). Those feature offers and promos available to me. For a new user, that might include sign-up offers.
Then before BetMGM breaks down its gaming library by section, I see “Recent Games” that I have used and can easily jump back into.
Just below that is a “Featured” games selection. That includes a selection of 10 games.
The 10 games include a nice variety, but eight of the 10 are exclusive offers from BetMGM. One is advertised as “Players’ No. 1”, which I have to assume is the top-played game on the platform.
The final game selection was an Infinity Reels game, which is a type of slot game I typically enjoy playing.
These 10 games all were a pretty good mix of different gaming companies and gaming styles. The slot games vary is playing formats and visual presentation, as well as volatility, but all feature pretty healthy Return To Player percentages.
- NBA Gold (Exclusive): 94.08% RTP
- BetMGM Casino LuckyTap (Exclusive): 96.72% RTP
- Goat Rush (Exclusive): 94.25% RTP
- Premium Blackjack Pro (Players’ No. 1)
- West Coast Cash Infinity Reels: 96.16% RTP
- Ghostbusters Triple Slime (Exclusive): 96.08% RTP
- Declaration of Spindependence (Exclusive): 94.0% RTP
- Captain Riches (Exclusive): 93.95% RTP
- Masters of Atlantis (Exclusive): 94.02% RTP
- Bananaz 10K Ways (Exclusive): 96.12% RTP
My Takeaway: My peers here at Catena Media, Paul Costanzo and Matt Schoch, both sent me screenshots of their BetMGM homepages and they were very similar. BetMGM doesn’t have much to think about, as their gaming library and performance speaks for itself. Their presentation is visually appealing and their offerings do a good job of encompassing all they offer throughout their platform.
What does FanDuel Casino Michigan feature?
Fanduel Casino MI sits second in the Michigan online casino revenue race, but is in more competition to hold its spot than it is gain the top spot from BetMGM.
FanDuel owns 17% of the lifetime online casino revenue share in Michigan with $567.3 million collected.
Similar to BetMGM, I see banner ads with special offers and promos across the top of the homepage when I login to the platform.
From there, there is a smaller banner ad promoting their Reward Machine. It’s a daily set of free spins that can win you rewards to use toward online casino games on FanDuel.
Below the Reward Machine is a list of “Recently Played Games”, then a selection of “Featured Games.”
FanDuel’s featured games list includes a mix of table games, new games, exclusive games and jackpot slots. It’s a total of 10 games that also mixes up the gaming creators and RTP rates.
- Blackjack
- American Roulette
- Classic Blackjack
- 1942 Sky Warriors (Daily Jackpot): 93.73% RTP
- Spirit of Nature (Exclusive): 95.5% RTP
- MegaJackpots Cleopatra (Jackpot): 91.01% RTP
- Gonzo’s Gold (New): 96.05% RTP
- Slingo Fluffy Favorites (New): 95.3% RTP
- Smokin Triples: No RTP available
- Lightning Shenlong: 96.13% RTP
Below the featured games is a collection of advertised “Daily Jackpot” games with a clock indicating what the jackpot currently is set at and how much time remains before it needs to be hit.
FanDuel also has sections for “Top 10 Games in Michigan,” “New Games,” and “Binge Worthy Slots.”
My Takeaway: FanDuel seems to spread the wealth a little better with its offers. Costanzo and Schoch also had a variable mix of featured gaming selections on their mobile apps. Putting the Reward Machine up front is a smart way to get users started. Immediate rewards are likely to lead to some gameplay. I also like the daily jackpot counter. I can’t lie that had I logged in later and it was still available, I would have likely taken a few spins.
What does DraftKings Casino Michigan feature?
DraftKings Casino Michigan is right on the heels of FanDuel for second in the online casino revenue race in Michigan.
Over its lifetime, DraftKings owns 16.7% of the revenue share in the state, equating to $545.6 million.
DraftKings starts like the other two operations, with promotions and offers that apply to me upon logging in.
Next is a sliding bar of sections I can choose from, but it auto-selects “For You” to begin with.
It then presents a row of games I have recently played before moving on to “Suggested Games.”
On the desktop, the suggested games were nine different options. However, on my mobile app, the suggestions added five more options for a total of 14 games.
After that it lists all of the available games, leading mostly with DraftKings branded games before eventually going in alphabetical order.
The suggested games on the desktop included:
- DraftKings Rocket: 97.0% RTP
- 88 Fortunes: 96.0% RTP
- Almighty Buffalo Megaways: 96.5% RTP
- Blackjack Poker & Pairs
- Cash Eruption: 95.0% RTP
- Cash Machine: 96.0% RTP
- Cleopatra: 95.02% RTP
- Hyper Nova Megaways: 96.1% RTP
- SG Digital’s Ultimate Texas Hold’em
On the mobile app, the additional games were suggested:
- DraftKings Hockey Blackjack
- 15 Tridents: 96.1% RTP
- Reel King Megaways: 96.23% RTP
- Age of Akkadia: 94.71% RTP
- Stinkin’ Rich: 94.03% RTP
My Takeaway: Schoch and Costanzo also saw similar results on their mobile apps. It’s interesting they would suggest more games on their mobile app than on the desktop, but the mobile app is likely used by more customers. DraftKings balances out the suggested games with different slot varieties and table games, but doesn’t put as much emphasis like FanDuel or BetMGM. Clearly the DraftKings name on a title gives away that it is exclusive, but its competitors make sure to highlight jackpot and popular selections.
What other Michigan online casinos feature
It’s easy to focus on the big three, but there are still 12 other Michigan online casino operators that all have their own style.
Here’s a brief look at what some of the other operators are putting on their homepages.
BetRivers Casino MI: BetRivers puts a lot of emphasis on what players are winning on. They have a banner ad advertising recent promotional winners, as well as a running tucker that shows recent big wins on different slot games. They also have sections that promote “This Week’s Top 10” and “Top Played New Games.” It gives the user a feel for what might be the hot slot.
Golden Nugget Casino MI: Golden Nugget has one of the more unique homepages, as upon logging in, it brings you to a breakout box with all of the available promotions and rewards available to you. It then has smaller sections to advertise their featured and new games.
WynnBet Casino MI: WynnBet has jumped head first into promoting its jackpot slots. Its featured row contains all the mega jackpot games and where they stand in regard to where the jackpot currently sits. WynnBet also has sections promoting “White Hot Jackpot Games” with a running counter, as well as a section for “Progressive Jackpots.”
Barstool Casino MI: Barstool keeps things pretty basic. Instead of rows, they feature a series of boxed sections that include “Exclusives,” “Live Dealer,” “Blackjack Live,” “Slots,” and “Featured Games.”
Caesars Casino MI: Caesars also doesn’t get too creative with its presentation. It does single out one big exclusive featured game of the day that you can’t miss. It then just shifts to different sections for “Featured Games,” “Jackpots,” and “Promotions.”
Screenshots from BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings online casinos
