Michigan Goes Over $500 Million For First Time
The Michigan Gaming Control Board has tallied up the numbers and recently announced the November sports betting report for the state. The total sports betting handle went over $500 million for the first time in the state’s history.
Online sports betting first launched in January 2021, and there have been several records set up to this point. The online sports betting handle was $473.8 million in November. The betting action from the commercial casinos in Detroit was also included.
Michigan does not include the retail handle at the tribal casinos when it announces the total for the state. There are plenty of tribal betting options, but the most betting action comes from online sportsbooks.
The total sports betting handle jumped just 2.2 percent from October to November, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story. There were five weekends of football in October, which means that other sports helped the overall numbers in November.
After playing well enough to win the Big Ten Championship, the Michigan Wolverines college football team helped the betting numbers. Michigan will be back in action on December 31, and that is going to be a massive day for local sportsbooks.
Revenue Also On the Rise
The total betting handle was not the only number that set a record as the total sports betting revenue shattered the previous mark. Getting more action at the sportsbooks is the first step, but a boost in the overall revenue is more critical to the state.
The November total sports betting revenue was $58.8 million, which nearly doubled the previous record set in March 2021. The hold percentage for sportsbooks in Michigan was over 11 percent, setting a new record.
Tax revenue was also up for the month as the state collected $1.6 million in taxes for November. The city of Detroit also gets a percentage of tax revenue. The Motor City got over $925,000 for the month.
Trio of Operators Set the Tone
Michigan is a state that has seen new operators launch over the last few months, but the top three sportsbooks have remained the same. BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel have been the leaders since January, and that isn’t going to be changing anytime soon.
DraftKings is the only one of that group that isn’t partnered with a commercial casino in Detroit. DraftKings led the way in November with an online handle of $126.3 million.
DraftKings had the highest handle in Michigan for the month of November with $126.3 million.FanDuel Sportsbook has a total revenue of more than $20 million for the month, and the online handle was $115 million. BetMGM posted a total online handle of around $100 million, and the total revenue was $13.7 million.
Barstool is another sportsbook that has a partner in Detroit, but that operator has struggled to find footing in the state of Michigan.
