It took only 10 days for igaming and online sports betting to take off in Michigan. And the numbers didn’t disappoint the investment community.
Michigan gaming regulators said Tuesday the activity generated a total of $42.7 million – $29.4 million in revenues from igaming, and $13.3 million from online sports betting. The activity took place between Jan. 22-31.
And the sports betting figure didn’t even include wagering on the Super Bowl, which happened on Feb. 7. Analysts commented that Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts hinted during their quarterly conference calls last week that Michigan was going to a large sports betting opportunity.
“Michigan generated more launch-month online gambling gaming revenue than any other U.S. market in history,” Eilers and Krejcik Gaming’s Chris Grove said in a research note.
Grove said the result was driven by several factors, “including peak sports seasonality and a market that opened with a full complement of Tier 1 brands.”
Online sports betting launched in Michigan with 10 different platforms, each with single partners among Detroit’s three commercial casinos and seven of the state’s tribal gaming properties.
According to figures provided by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, FanDuel had the largest market share of all sports wagers at 28.3%, while DraftKings’ market share was 24.5%. Barstool Sports, which is operated by Penn National, generated a 23.9% market share while BetMGM had a 19.8% share of the sports wagers.
Jefferies gaming analyst David Katz said the results highlight “the commitment to first-mover advantage of the larger, daily fantasy sports-oriented players, as well as the benefits of integrated branded operators with more measured promotional strategies.”
Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli said that even though mobile sports wagering was available for just 10 days in Michigan, it accounted for 77% of the state’s total sports betting revenues.
“It’s important to keep in mind that this period encompassed two full weekends, both of which were NFL playoff weekends,” Santarelli wrote in a note to investors.
Gaming regulators said tax revenues from the online operations were $4.4 million, with $4.3 million from igaming and the rest from online/mobile sports betting.
“Internet gaming operators are off to a good start in Michigan,” said Control Board Executive Director Richard Kalm. “The taxes and payments from online gaming will provide funding for K-12 students, the city of Detroit and Michigan tribal communities.”
Kalm also noted the reporting period did not include the Super Bowl, traditionally the largest sports gambling day of the year.
For January, gaming revenues from the three Detroit casinos – MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino Hotel, and Penn National’s Greektown Hotel Casino – totaled $86.8 million.
The City of Detroit earned $10.3 million in taxable revenue, and the state of Michigan accrued $7.63 million for its coffers.
Rege Behe is lead contributor to CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at rbehe@cdcgaming.com. Please follow @RegeBehe_exPTR on Twitter.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
