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Michigan Online Sportsbooks Make Huge Leap To $457 Million In September Bets

Michigan’s online sportsbooks grew over 25% in wagers from a year ago by recording $457.7 million in handle for September.
Image of girl jumping into water for story on Michigan sportsbook handle soaring in September 2023
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Drew Ellis Avatar
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In September, Michigan online sportsbooks completely bucked the trend we’ve seen throughout 2023. MI sportsbooks made a huge leap to $457.7 million in bets for the month.

The handle, which was reported by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, is a 109.5% increase from August. However, it’s also a 25.6% increase from September of 2022.

That is the first time in 2023 that Michigan online sportsbooks had a greater handle for the month than it did a year ago. It’s a trend that has been happening around the country when it comes to online sports betting.

It was the second-best month for MI sports betting so far in 2023. Only handle of $491 million in January was better.

Michigan’s huge September leap by the numbers

Here are the top-line numbers for Michigan online sports betting in September from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

  • Handle: $457.7 million
  • Revenue: $44 million
  • Hold: 9.6% (down from 10.3% last month)
  • Month-over-month: Handle increased 109.5%
  • September sports betting taxes: $1.3 million to the state and $470,071 to local entities.
  • Top online sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook Michigan with $144.7 million
  • Top online sports betting app by revenue: FanDuel Sportsbook Michigan with $16.9 million

3 takeaways from September Michigan online sports betting revenue report

Michigan joins country with big September

Michigan’s online sportsbooks saw a notable leap in handle for September, but that’s been the trend around the country.

Michigan’s 25.6% jump compares to the likes of Tennessee and Iowa, which saw similar growth from September of 2022.

However, New Jersey saw a 55% leap in September with $1.26 billion in handle, while New York grew 40% with $1.76 billion in handle.

So far, Michigan’s 110% growth from August is second most in the country behind Kansas (122%). Note that not all major sports betting states — Illinois being a prime example — have not reported September numbers, yet.

Sports betting sees leap past $1 billion in revenue

Michigan sports betting crossed a major milestone in September, surpassing $1 billion in lifetime sports betting revenue.

The $43.99 million in online revenue for September put Michigan at $1.04 billion in lifetime revenue. That is without Detroit’s retail sports betting numbers for September factored in. Those numbers have not, yet, been released by the MGCB.

Michigan’s $1.04 billion in revenue comes with $11.95 billion in wagers, giving the sportsbooks a lifetime hold of 8.7%.

Surprisingly, the big jump in online handle this month still netted a slight decline in online sports betting revenue. The $43.99 million was an 8% decline from last September’s $47.8 million.

DraftKings hits record handle

It’s been a while since we’ve had one of the major online sportsbooks hit a record month for handle.

DraftKings Sportsbook Michigan did just that in September.

DraftKings recorded $137.3 million in handle last month, besting its previous record of $132 million in January of 2022.

The total handle also put it just $7.4 million behind FanDuel Sportsbook Michigan for the top spot in September. That’s the closest DraftKings has been to FanDuel since September of a year ago, when it bested FanDuel by nearly $2 million.

Michigan online sports betting September 2023 revenue by operator

LicenseeOnline BrandHandleRevenueHoldTaxes
MotorCityFanDuel$144,708,675$16,885,89011.7%$882,703
Bay MillsDraftKings$137,330,735$11,693,8558.5%$191,118
MGM Grand DetroitBetMGM$78,160,908$7,797,49110.0%$272,925
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and ChippewaCaesars$33,663,570$3,433,17510.2%$235,059
Little River Band of OttawaBetRivers$22,041,582$1,898,9398.6%$80,272
GreektownBarstool$20,685,508$939,2154.5%$47,605
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior ChippewaPointsBet$8,897,098$761,7548.6%$0
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of ChippewaWynnBet$3,598,386$93,7342.6%$7,869
HannahvilleSI$1,887,346$109,1435.8%$0
Sagniaw ChippewaEagle$1,729,757$144,7728.4%$3,929
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of PottawatomiPlay Gun Lake$1,405,240$69,3314.9%$0
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of PotawatomiFireKeepers$1,271,076$90,9557.2%$0
Pokagon Band of PotawatomiFour Winds$1,170,053$58,7185.0%$0
Keweenaw BayGolden Nugget$1,145,745$9,3560.8%$0
Total$457,695,679$43,986,3289.6%$1,721,480

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Drew Ellis

Former Lead Writer

Drew Ellis is a former Lead Writer of PlayILottery.com. He was also the former Lead Writer of PlayMichigan, the No. 1 source for online gambling news in Michigan. A lifelong resident of the state, Ellis has been working in various forms of media since 1998, including more than a decade in the sports betting industry prior to transitioning into US casino markets in 2020.

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