Online Casinos in Michigan Enjoy Year-to-Year Revenue Increase
Michigan became one of the first US states to legalize and launch casino and sports betting sites for its residents. That happened on January 22, 2021, and a year later, we are ready to draw conclusions. At the time of this article’s writing, Michigan hosts 14 online casinos and sportsbooks, representing the state’s commercial (3) and tribal (11) land-based operators. They generated annual revenue of about $1.4 billion for the opening 12 months. Although sports betting had only around $292 million of the total, expectations were met in the middle of the year. The first quarter of 2022 shows at least an 8% year-to-year increase!
Opening Year in Numbers
Michigan performed more than well in its first operational year on the online gambling market, finishing third in annual revenue and paid taxes, only after New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Online casinos took the lion’s share generating $1.1 billion out of $1.4 billion in total revenue, although sports bettors in the state wagered more than $3.7 billion. Here is a list of online casinos in Michigan! This first year brought almost $210 million in taxes to the Great Lakes State. And that is just the beginning, according to experts. Online sports betting usually gains speed more slowly, but its potential to the budget is comparable to online casinos.
Moreover, the reputation of world-renowned iGaming providers like Gaming Realms easily convinces players to register online and play. Bookmakers, on the other hand, are less well known, although behind them are operators with solid experience in the state. Internet sportsbooks are responsible for taxes and fees of slightly above $7 million for 2021. At the same time, mobile gambling and sports wagering hold the bulk of the total revenue. In conclusion, the best-performed online brand is BetMGM, an affiliate of Detroit’s land-based MGM Grand. It registered total annual revenue of $417 million.
Revenue Increases in 2022
As expected, the first few months of 2022 followed the trend from the last quarter of the previous year. Online sports betting increased its share by 11.7%! The three commercial and 11 tribal operators reported above $155 million of total gross receipts for January. In February, the amount slightly dropped but was increased to over $162 million in March. Operators paid about $20.5 million to the Michigan budget in the form of taxes and payments for municipal services only in January. The online gaming share was $19.1 million, while sports betting climbed up to $1.4 million
For the second month of 2022, operators declared around $145 million in gross receipts, which was a record compared to 2021. Indeed, there was a 6.8% drop from the January result but a massive 62.9% increase in a year-to-year comparison. The online casino gaming figure was $122 million, 53.8% higher than in February 2021, and online sports betting – $22.5 million, up by 136.7% from $9.5 million. For March, figures continue their uprising movement in a year-to-year comparison but again give way on a monthly basis. The total gross receipts exceed $133 million, which is a drop of about 8%.
How Regulations Work Out for Michigan
The land-based gambling in Michigan has been legal for many years, but the lack of control over internet gaming and sports betting was problematic for both licensed operators and punters. However, after the Act from 2019, the Michigan Gaming Control Board reports fewer cases of abuse every year. This is why more conservative states are considering changes to their policies in order to create a safer environment for players. A good example is the situation with Iowa online gambling.
The market regulations work in many ways! They helped the state and licensed operators to control the money flows and return part of them to the community. Numbers show a huge increase in the revenues of the casino and sportsbook operators for 2021 and the first three months of 2022. This is not a coincidence, and hardly anyone will believe that people have started betting because the state allowed them to do so. The truth is that this money has flowed through unregulated offshore platforms in the past.
Conclusion
Finally, we would like to say that the 2019 Act is currently having a positive impact on the gambling business and the state of Michigan. Besides revenue and taxes, both sides can use the chance to implement innovations in their related departments. Creating jobs is very important for the community and may minimize or even convert the negative reactions of some residents. Huge iGaming vendors and software suppliers like PariPlay enter the state, which is always good for the local economy. We can’t wait to see the numbers in the second 2022 quarter!