Sportsbooks at Detroit Casinos Report $1.97M August Revenue
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Before the COVID-19 shutdown, sportsbooks in the three Detroit casinos were open for just five days in March. After the 4½-month layoff, the three sportsbooks reopened Aug. 5 and were allowed to operate at a 15% occupancy level.
Since reopening, the sportsbooks at MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino and Greektown Casino combined to take $15 million in wagers in August, resulting in $1.97 million in revenue.
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MGM Grand Detroit was open for 25 days in August and held 48% of the market share handle in Detroit ($7,561,607.25), while the FanDual Sportsbook at MotorCity Casino had 34% ($5,300,122) and Greektown Casino recorded 18% ($2,882,526.49). MotorCity and Greektown opened two days earlier than MGM.
The COVID-19 restrictions have hampered not only the sportsbooks’ potential profit, but the casino operations as a whole. Compared to August 2019, revenue fell 46% to $28.6 million at MGM Grand Detroit; 37.5% to $25 million for MotorCity; and 41.5% to $15.7 million at Greektown. The Detroit casinos reported $69.3 million aggregate revenue in August.
Mobile Betting to Provide Boost to Casinos
Michigan officials hope the state's mobile sports betting launch will provide a boost similar to the boom New Jersey has experienced since its online platform has gone live. The state has steadily seen increases in the amount of volume in its online handle for its top sportsbooks.
New Jersey broke a national record for monthly mobile sports betting handle with $601,942,486 in August. That was a 103.5% increase over July’s $295,804,327 and up 141.5% from August 2019. According to state figures, mobile made up 90% of the New Jersey total sports handle in August.
The next step in Michigan’s mobile gaming launch will take place on Sept. 23 when the Michigan Gaming Control Board hosts a virtual public hearing as part of the rule-making process for online casino gaming and online sports betting.
The meeting will let members of the public give their thoughts on the launch of online gaming within the state.
To join the Microsoft Teams hosted meeting click here or dial 248-509-0316. The conference ID: is 740 797 607#.
Contributors
Bryce joined TopUSCasinos.com after spending the last nine years covering high school and college sports throughout Michigan. He’s served as the primary Division II beat writer for Grand Valley State and Michigan Tech. Along with his newspaper background, he's worked in marketing and recently co-founded Upbeat — the Upper Peninsula of Michigan’s first subscription-based prep sports website. His favorite sports to gamble on are football, basketball, baseball and Formula 1.
