The Motor City’s trio of casinos and sports betting operators raked in more than $130 million during the final month of 2021.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board released its financial report Tuesday, which showed Detroit’s casinos brought in $1.29 billion in aggregate revenue during 2021 — a figure that doubled the amount the same facilities generated in COVID-impacted 2020 ($639 million).
Here’s a look at the Michigan gaming numbers from the three Detroit casinos and their sports betting partners during the month of December.
Detroit Casinos Up More than 7% from November
The three Detroit casinos — MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Greektown Casino — generated $111,364,308 in revenue during December.
That figure is up 7.2% from November, when the trio of casinos reported just over $103.8 million in revenue.
As far as market share is concerned, MGM Grand Detroit (43%) led the way, followed by MotorCity Casino (35%), and Greektown Casino (22%) — according to the MGCB press release.
The three facilities managed to bring in $1.27 billion in revenue from slots and table games during 2021 — a 104.2% increase year-over-year.
The commercial Detroit casinos handed the state north of $9 million in state wagering taxes and $18.1 million in city wagering taxes in December alone, up 7.2% and 39.8% from the amounts they paid in November.
Casinos chipped in $102.6 million in wagering taxes to the state of Michigan in 2021, which more than doubled the amount generated during 2020 ($50.3 million).
The same casinos also paid out $160.8 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments on slots and table games to the city of Detroit during 2021, the board said.
Detroit’s Retail Sports Betting Handle Up 12% in December
Michigan sports betting handle among the retail books was another clear winner during December, with the three Detroit casinos bringing in 12% more than November.
The trio’s combined handle was $30,071,942, compared to $26,693,885 in November.
The city’s total handle for 2021, which was the first full calendar year of sports betting in the state, was $310,627,937. Detroit’s casinos doled out $1,260,782 in city wagering tax, to go with $1,031,549 in state wagering tax during 2021.
The gross receipts from December fell 74.5% from November, from $4.3M to $1.1M, while the state wagering tax collected fell 71%, from $163,986 to $47,498.
As far as gross receipts, MGM Grand Detroit ($631,703) and Greektown Casino ($624,849) led the way in the city, while MotorCity Casino reported receipts of minus-$150,664 during December.
Detroit’s wagering tax from sports betting fell 71% as well, from $199,986 in November to $58,053 in December.
The December numbers for Michigan online sportsbook apps are expected later this week.
Online sports betting began in Michigan in late January 2021. The state total handle record was set in November at $500.5 million.
