This is the second in a two-part series looking at the first two years of legal online gambling in Michigan. Check out Part One, when we looked at Michigan online sports betting.
This past Sunday, Jan. 22, marked the 2-year anniversary of legalized online casinos in the state of Michigan.
The state took on the daunting task of launching both online sportsbooks and online casinos at the same time.
In the past 24 months, it’s proven to be a great revenue generator for the gambling industry and tax revenue generator for the state.
Michigan set a record for most iGaming revenue over the first 24 months of operation. That has led to more than $675 million in tax revenue for state and local entities here in Michigan.
Michigan’s online casino lifetime numbers
Over the past 24 months, the Michigan online casino industry has seen consistent growth. That has led to increased revenue for operators, and increased tax revenue for Michigan.
Here’s how the numbers break down over the last 24 months.
Michigan online casino revenue
- 2021 total revenue: $1.11 billion
- 2022 total revenue: $1.58 billion
- Total 2-year revenue: $2.7 billion
Michigan online casino state taxes
- 2021 total state taxes: $201.7 million
- 2022 total state taxes: $289.2 million
- Total 2-year state taxes: $490.9 million
Michigan online casino city/local taxes
- 2021 total city taxes: $77.7 million
- 2022 total city taxes: $110.7 million
- Total 2-year city taxes: $188.3 million
How do Michigan online casinos compare to other states?
Michigan was well prepared upon launch of online casinos.
A total of eight online operators were available to users on Jan. 22, 2021’s launch date.
Since then, seven operators joined the mix over the last two years. Currently, a total of 14 are available.
Michigan’s total of $2.7 billion in revenue is a record for its first two years of operation. By comparison, here’s what other states tallied:
- Pennsylvania: $1.37 billion
- New Jersey: $253 million
- West Virginia: $113 million
- Delaware: $3.78 million
When comparing to top states currently operating, Michigan still is just behind the likes of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Here’s what the two have done for 2021 and 2022 combined:
- New Jersey: $3.03 billion
- Pennsylvania: $2.96 billion
Second year has featured several Michigan online casino monthly records
While online casinos had impressive revenue numbers in 2021, the second year is when things have really taken off.
Starting in February, the final 11 months of 2022 saw monthly revenue higher than any monthly total in 2021.
Throughout 2022, Michigan set six new monthly revenue records, closing with December’s $152.8 million.
Here’s a look at the top-five revenue months through the first two years of online casinos, all of which came in 2022.
- December 2022: $152.8 million
- November 2022: $145.4 million
- October 2022: $141 million
- April 2022: $132.4 million
- March 2022: $131.7 million
BetMGM Michigan dominating online casino field
While online sports betting has had a competitive battle up top between select operators, online casinos can’t say the same.
BetMGM Michigan has been the runaway leader when it comes to market share for online casinos in the state.
Of the $2.7 billion in lifetime online casino revenue, BetMGM is accounting 37.3% of that. BetMGM is the only operator to cross the $1 billion mark on its own. It sits just over $1 billion in total revenue for its 24 months of operation.
That total is more than double its nearest competitor, FanDuel Casino MI ($443.4 million).
BetMGM has more revenue than FanDuel and DraftKings Casino MI ($432.9 million) combined. Those are the two closest competitors. Even more impressive is that BetMGM has tallied more revenue than the bottom 12 operators combined over 24 months.
Every month of the 24 months of online casinos in Michigan has seen BetMGM lead the monthly revenue.
What Year 2 brought Michigan online casinos
The second year of online casinos was pretty newsworthy for Michigan.
Interstate poker play in Michigan and New Jersey
Along with some operator changes, the last year has seen the start of interstate poker play.
Michigan was accepted into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement in April of 2022. That opened the door for Michigan poker players to compete against players in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey.
On Jan. 1 of 2023, PokerStars MI became the first Michigan online poker operator to clear the hurdles to combine player pools with New Jersey.
Expanded live dealer options at Michigan online casinos
Speaking of new gaming options, the last year saw live dealer gaming increase its library.
Evolution introduced Lightning Roulette, Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em to the live-dealer gaming options for online casinos in Michigan.
In June, BetMGM became the first to announce that it opened its own personal live dealer studio in Michigan. Others were quick to follow suit. Now most Michigan operators have exclusive live dealer studios as part of their gaming offerings.
Eagle Casino & Sports launches
Another big development in the last year was the launch of the 15th online casino platform (at the time), in 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.
Upon its launch, Eagle Casino & Sports has seen steady revenue monthly. It peaked in September with 2.26% of the state’s revenue market share. It also has been above 1.6% of the share for seven consecutive months.
TwinSpires closes casino operation
TwinSpires elected to cease its online casino and sportsbook operations this past year. They officially closed the doors on Sept. 6.
That left an online sportsbook and casino license available for the Hannahville Indian Community to seek as part of Island Resort & Casino.
They elected to choose SI Sportsbook to become their new online sportsbook operator. However, SI Sportsbook has yet to see an online casino license in Michigan.
Currently, just 14 online operators exist in the state. SI Sportsbook has expressed plans to seek an online casino license in the future.
