Image: David Coates/Detroit News/Associated Press Detroit Casinos once again faced an uphill battle with tight COVID restrictions still in place throughout all of February. 25% capacity limits left little room for error, and year-on-year revenues fell by almost 30%. MGM continued to lead the three Detroit casinos in market share.
Even the Super Bowl couldn’t save the state’s sportsbooks, as Michigan casinos pointed the finger at higher acquisition costs as the state rolls out legal online sports betting. The high costs of bonuses and promos led sports betting operators to show a loss for the month. This, as the big three commercial casinos in Detroit, battled against new Michigan online casinos to see who would have the best Michigan casino and sports betting platforms and apps. Market share amongst these three stayed the same as it has been for pretty much the last year, and fantasy sports leagues and contests ticked up slightly.
Slots and Table Game Revenue
The numbers indeed weren’t as bad as they could have been for the slots and table game verticals. Overall revenue was down 29%, to $86.46 million this year over last February. But with restrictions allowing only 25% capacity in casino venues, this number could have been a lot worse for Michigan Casinos.
Besides Coronavirus restrictions, there is the wild card of Michigan online casino operators now competing with the brick and mortar casinos. Michigan online gambling was launched on Jan 22nd, and February will be the first full month of what will surely be fierce competition to sign up players for all of the new Michigan casino apps and platforms.
February numbers won’t be released for another week or so. Still, in the ten days of January that Michigan had online gambling, it reported total revenue of $29.4 million from online slots and casino table games. It’s pretty easy to forecast February numbers in the $120 to $150 million range. To put that in perspective, Michigan online casinos have a chance to almost double the three Detroit casinos’ revenue in their first month of operation.
If you would like to see these numbers when they come out, visit the MGCB (Michigan Gaming Control Board) website. So facing all of those headwinds, a 29% percent decline isn’t all that surprising.
The following are revenues for each of the Detroit commercial casinos:
- MGM Casino showed the most significant year-on-year decline. It reported revenues of $34.4 million, a decline of 34.6% from February 2020.
- Greektown Casino reported a more modest decline. This past February, it generated $20.8 million, a dip of 27.3% from February of last year.
- MotorCity Casino had a respectable, everything considered, month. $20.8 million, off 23%
Michigan Sports Betting
Total sports betting handle was $23.7 million for February, compared to $35.6 million in January. Beyond February being a shorter month, it appeared as if Super Bowl and college basketball were no match to the NFL playoff season when it comes to Michigan sports betting.
Greektown Casino, which has been leading the way in the Michigan sports betting market, was the only casino to show a profit in February. It netted $112,000 after subtracting the monetary value of bonuses and free play. However, it had posted gross receipts of $1.63 million for the prior month. Motorcity Casino incurred a $186,000 loss in February, compared to $1.57 million in gross receipts for January. MGM Detroit posted a $9,000 loss in February, compared to an $863,000 revenue in January.
Will Michigan Online Casino Capture More Market Share?
The big question is the advent of online sports betting in the last ten days of January. Did all of those handheld Michigan mobile casino apps take great swaths of business from the land-based casinos? We won’t know until the February online casino numbers are made available. However, we do know that in those ten days back in January, sports betting generated a handle of $115 million and gross revenues of $13.3 million. This would suggest that online sports betting in Michigan will be an order of magnitude larger than that from the three Detroit casinos.
Online Operator Competition
Also hinted by the numbers is the sheer scope of competition from the growing online casino operators. To show a combined loss of $77,000 between them while taking $23.7 million in bets is more than To Brady, the underdog winning the Super Bowl. It is more likely due to casinos throwing huge amounts of bonus money at gamblers in the hope of enticing new punters.
With the lower overhead of online sportsbook operations, tied with their 24/7 availability from anywhere in Michigan state lines, It’s hard to see the news getting much better for the land-based sportsbooks anytime soon.
Detroit Casino Market Share
Among the Detroit Casinos, MGM Casino Detroit led with a market share of 40% for February. It was followed closely by Motorcity Casino with 36%. Greektown Casino had the smallest market share of 24%.
Fantasy Contests
In addition to their casinos, DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) operators like DraftKings and FanDuel also do well in Michigan. Michigan DFS revenues amounted to $2.2 million in February, compared to January’s revenues of $1.9 million. The slight increase in DFS revenues after the NFL regular season had come to an end is probably a reason to be optimistic about long-term trends for DFS in Michigan. Also, while there were only eight registered fantasy sports operators as of January, this number is likely to grow as we get further into 2021 and the market begins to mature. The lower tax rate of 8.4% percent is bound to draw more interested parties.
What the Future Holds for the Best Michigan Casinos
All three Detroit casinos rolled out online casinos and sportsbooks back in January. So, they may be able to offset some of their losses with increased revenue from these casino apps and websites.
Michigan Casino and Sportsbook Bonuses
What is unlikely to change, though, for at least the foreseeable future, is the cost of land-based operations competing with online casinos. This is probably the golden age of promo and bonus offers in Michigan as casinos race to see how many new players they can sign up in the first few months of this new era. Deposit bonuses, free spins, risk-free bets, and loyalty rewards are all the new norm.
If you would like to sign up and cash out on these offers, you won’t even need to be a Michigan resident. Anyone over 21 and within Michigan state limits can open an account and start betting on sports or playing casino games online in minutes.
PokerStars Michigan
While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out Michigan’s online poker. PokerStars, the world-leading online poker operator, set up its PokerStars Michigan brand. It is offered as an addition to its PokerStars Michigan Casino website and app.
PokerStars Michigan also offers a generous welcome bonus and ongoing promotions for poker and casino players. To show how much potential Michigan Poker has, PokerStars Michigan just held its first-ever online poker tournament in Michigan. The MICOOP generated over 32,000 entries and included 60 different events. It was a guaranteed prize event that awarded over $2 million in prize money.
So if casino or poker is your game, PokerStars Michigan definitely has a seat for you. Sign up today and get a great sign-up bonus!
