Despite an average month of retail sports betting, Michigan sportsbooks had a record total handle in the month of October due to a surge in online sports betting.
A total of $551.1 million in wagers was driven by Michigan online sportsbooks recording a record $533 million in wagers last month.
The online handle was the first time Michigan surpassed $500 million in online wagers. It shattered the previous online handle record of $496.8 million from January of 2022.
October 2023 Michigan sports betting record revenue numbers
Here are the top-line numbers for Michigan sports betting in October from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
- Handle: $551.1 million ($533 million online)
- Revenue: $46.1 million ($45 million online
- Hold: 8.4% (down from 9.6% last month)
- Month-over-month: Handle increased 15.8%
- October sports betting taxes: $1.8 million to the state and $ 715,736 to local entities.
- Top online sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook MI with $173.4 million
- Top online sports betting app by revenue: FanDuel Sportsbook MI with $20.5 million
Three takeaways from October Michigan sports betting revenue report
Online sports betting skyrockets in October
Online sports betting in Michigan had seemingly plateaued throughout 2023, but the last two months have seen it jump to another level in the state.
September saw online handle jump by 25.6% from a year ago with a $457.7 million mark.
Now, October has a new record of $533 million. Not only does that top the previous best month by 7.3%, it’s a 10.9% jump from last October’s $480.8 million in online handle.
It might be easy to try and connect the boost with the play of the Detroit Lions and Michigan Wolverines, but online sports betting is up across the country in October.
Michigan’s 11% jump year-over-year is actually tame compared to a 30% increase for New York and growth of 25% for New Jersey.
Online sports betting revenue ahead of 2022
Along with the growing online handle, Michigan online sports betting revenue remains ahead of 2022’s pace.
With $45 million in online revenue earned for October, that puts Michigan at $325.3 million in revenue for the year through 10 months.
In 2022, Michigan sat at $309.9 million. Through 10 months of this year, online sports betting revenue is up 5% compared to 2022.
That is considering that online handle remains below the 2022 pace.
Through 10 months of 2022, online sportsbooks in Michigan had an 8.6% hold. This year, the online sportsbooks have a 9.4% hold.
That speaks to the continued efforts of online sportsbooks to push their parlay wagers to increase revenue.
FanDuel sets the new standard
Keeping in line with the trend of the month, FanDuel Sportsbook Michigan blew the previous online handle record for an operator out of the water in October.
The sportsbook partner of MotorCity Casino recorded $173.4 million in online handle last month, topping its previous best of $154.2 million by 12.4%.
FanDuel is now up to $1.18 billion in online handle this year, which accounts for more than one-third of the online handle for all Michigan sportsbooks.
Along with FanDuel, DraftKings Sportsbook MI ($147.4 million), BetRivers Sportsbook MI ($45.5 million), Caesars Sportsbook Michigan ($42 million) and Four Winds Sportsbook ($1.2 million) also all saw record monthly online handles.
BetRivers’ was the biggest albatross, as it’s previous monthly handle record was $22 million, which came in September. Their last two months of online handle have accounted for 51.3% of its yearly total.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MI ONLINE SPORTSBOOKS:
Michigan sports betting October 2023 revenue by operator
| Licensee | Online Brand | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MotorCity | FanDuel | $179,308,530 | $21,166,521 | 11.8% | $1,278,543 |
| Bay Mills | DraftKings | $147,378,170 | $16,292,388 | 11.1% | $718,766 |
| MGM Grand Detroit | BetMGM | $84,787,159 | $7,262,680 | 8.6% | $421,110 |
| Little River Band of Ottawa | BetRivers | $45,509,160 | -$749,275 | -1.6% | $0 |
| Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa | Caesars | $42,020,379 | -$306,456 | -0.7% | $0 |
| Greektown | Barstool | $28,008,294 | $1,374,025 | 4.9% | $93,860 |
| Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa | PointsBet | $12,521,808 | $360,637 | 2.9% | $0 |
| Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa | WynnBet | $2,987,788 | $243,360 | 8.1% | $20,430 |
| Sagniaw Chippewa | Eagle | $1,967,526 | $150,110 | 7.6% | $5,074 |
| Hannahville | SI | $1,706,010 | $29,955 | 1.8% | $0 |
| Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi | FireKeepers | $1,364,904 | $30,551 | 2.2% | $0 |
| Pokagon Band of Potawatomi | Four Winds | $1,225,828 | $147,101 | 12.0% | $0 |
| Keweenaw Bay | Golden Nugget | $1,186,245 | $42,135 | 3.6% | $0 |
| Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi | Play Gun Lake | $1,155,222 | $91,975 | 8.0% | $0 |
| Total | $551,127,024 | $46,135,708 | 8.4% | $2,537,783 |
