Michigan Land-Based Casino Revenue up 40.1% Year-On-Year

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) published its Detroit casino revenue report for November earlier this week. It revealed that the state’s three land-based casinos combined to generate nearly $108.35 million in revenue during the month, marking a 5.3% increase from October 2024.

While slot and table game revenue was only up around 2.6% month-on-month, negative sports betting figures brought the overall land-based gambling revenue down to $102.9 million in October.

Slots and table games accounted for $106.44 million of the revenue total in November, while the remaining $1.91 million came from retail sports betting at the casinos’ retail sportsbooks, including FanDuel at MotorCity, BetMGM at MGM Grand Detroit, and Hollywood Casino’s ESPN BET sportsbook.

While MGM Grand Detroit led November’s revenue with $49.2 million, it was the only venue reporting a decrease compared with October. Still, this was slight, at around 0.4% or $190,000. The casino held 46% of the market share, down from 48% in October.

MotorCity Casino reported a market share of around 31% in November, while Hollywood Casino held the remaining 23%. Both casinos reported increases in revenue compared to the previous month.

Casino Strikes Drive Significant Year-on-Year Change

Year-over-year comparisons reveal more notable differences. This is because more than 3,000 Detroit casino employees participated in workplace strikes for most of November last year, over pay and workplace benefits.

Revenue was up around 40.1% year-on-year, driven by a significant increase in revenue at MGM Grand Detroit, where the strikes started on October 17. The strikes took place at all three Detroit casinos, running through November 19, 2023. Compared year-over-year, MGM Grand Detroit reported an increase of around 60.6% or $18.6 million.

November saw the three casinos pay more than $8.6 million in gaming taxes to the State of Michigan, which supports the School Aid Fund. Additionally, the report revealed a payment of $13.2 million to the City of Detroit.

Sports Betting Revenue Down Despite New Venue

Still, retail sports betting revenue fell considerably compared to the same month last year. In November 2023, this figure came to $3.1 million, meaning this year’s total represents a 38.4% decline. This comes despite the opening of a brand new sportsbook, ESPN BET, at Hollywood Casino at Greektown. The venue opened its doors in April 2024 and marks ESPN BET’s first-ever retail sportsbook under the new name.

ESPN BET officially came about in November 2023 to replace Barstool Sportsbook in the 17 states where Penn is licensed.