This is the first in a two-part series looking at the first two years of legal online gambling in Michigan. Check back next week for Part 2, when we look at Michigan online casinos.
Sunday, Jan. 22, marks the 2-year anniversary of legal online sports betting in the state of Michigan.
What initially started with 10 online sportsbooks on launch day has blossomed into 15 through the last two years.
Michigan sports betting totaled $8.21 billion in online handle through its first two years. That tops states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Colorado through their first 24 months.
Michigan online sports betting lifetime handle, revenue and taxes
Here is a look at what Michigan online sportsbooks have generated through the first 24 months of operation.
Michigan online sports betting handle
- 2021 total handle: $3.66 billion
- 2022 total handle: $4.56 billion
- Total 2-year handle: $8.21 billion
Michigan online sportsbooks have had a strong showing in the first 24 months. By comparison, Pennsylvania generated $6.35 billion, New Jersey had $6.32 billion and Colorado had $6.85 billion.
However, Illinois put up an impressive $12.5 billion over its first 24 months.
Michigan online sports betting revenue
- 2021 total revenue: $292.2 million
- 2022 total revenue: $399.6 million
- Total 2-year revenue: $691.7 million
The amount wagered and revenue gathered by the state has helped generate a solid chunk of cash for state and local entities.
Michigan online sports betting state taxes
- 2021 total state taxes: $7.3 million
- 2022 total state taxes: $13.7 million
- Total 2-year state taxes: $21 million
Michigan online sports betting city taxes
- 2021 total city taxes: $4.1 million
- 2022 total city taxes: $6.7 million
- Total 2-year city taxes: $10.8 million
Football is king for Michigan sports betting
Things got off and running for sports bettors in Michigan. Launch date took place just prior to the 2021 AFC and NFC Championship games.
Sign-up offers and promotions for first-time users allowed Michigan residents to dive into online sports betting right around the Super Bowl. That carried into March Madness and things were off and running.
Through the past two years, it has been clear that sports betting hits its peak during football season.
The five biggest months of online sports betting in Michigan all reside within the heart of football season.
- January 2022: $496.8 million in handle
- December 2021: $484.6 million
- October 2022: $480.8 million
- November 2022: $480 million
- December 2022: $478.7 million
Though it has the fewest games played each season, football (college and NFL) accounts for approximately 33% of the state’s sports betting handle each year.
Much of the same can be said for online sports betting revenue. The five highest revenue months have been during football season.
- November 2021: $54.1 million
- October 2022: $49.2 million
- December 2022: $48.8 million
- September 2022: $47.8 million
- November 2022: $40.8 million
Fanduel, DraftKings, BetMGM online sportsbooks lead the way in Michigan
When it comes to dominant online sports betting operators, Michigan has had a three-horse race throughout its two years of existence.
FanDuel Sportsbook MI, DraftKings Sportsbook MI and BetMGM Michigan have been the trendsetters in the state.
Over the two years, the trio have accounted for 76.2% of the online handle in Michigan. Here’s how the three have compared:
- FanDuel: 28.87% ($2.37 billion)
- DraftKings: 25.58% ($2.10 billion)
- BetMGM: 22.17% ($1.82 billion)
Revenue isn’t quite as competitive. While the trio still lead the way collectively with 80.9% of the revenue market share, FanDuel has separated itself from its two peers.
- FanDuel: 37.08% ($256.5 million)
- BetMGM: 26.12% ($180.7 million)
- DraftKings: 17.94% ($124.1 million)
Since launch, Barstool Sportsbook MI has been a distant fourth in online handle (8.53%) and revenue (7.49%). However, Caesars Sportsbook MI has been making up ground in 2022.
Caesars accounts for just 6.48% of the online handle market share since launch. But, in 2022, Caesars ($341.3 million) actually garnered more handle than Barstool ($339.8 million) for the year.
What Year 2 brought Michigan online sports betting
Obviously, it was going to be tough for the second year of online sports betting to be more newsworthy than its first year.
Despite that, there were still some big moments over the last 12 months.
Michigan saw two new online operators emerge.
The first was Eagle Casino & Sports. The online platform of Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort launched on April 14. It was the 15th and final online casino and sportsbook operation to launch at the time, filling up all of Michigan’s available licenses.
Eagle Casino & Sports saw an increase in online handle every month since launch for the first eight months. It has generated $12.3 million in online handle through its first nine months of operation.
SI Sportsbook MI became the second new sportsbook to launch in 2022. TwinSpires online sportsbook and casino closed its Michigan operations on Sept. 6. That forced the Hannahville Indian Community to seek a new online partner for Island Resort & Casino.
That new partner became SI Sportsbook, which launched soon after. SI Sportsbook only operates as an online sportsbook, leaving one opening for an online casino license for Island Resort & Casino to fulfill.
SI Sportsbook has seen growth in online handle each month since launch. In November it generated $1.3 million. That was followed by $1.66 million in December. That was Hannahville’s highest handle total since November 2021 under TwinSpires.
Another new development in 2022 is sportsbooks allowing users to begin stacking same game parlays.
While parlays have always been an option, players previously couldn’t stack multiple picks from one game into a parlay with another game.
Now, online bettors can build up multiple SGP’s to create even longer odds for a big sports day.
