It was an opening month of the year to remember for Michigan online casinos and one to forget for the state’s online sportsbooks.
In total, Michigan iGaming operators raked in $138,324,954 in January, up 0.6% from December ($137,473,697). January’s haul broke the state’s all-time adjusted revenue record, which only lasted a month, and it represented the third consecutive month with a total exceeding $130 million.
Operators of Michigan online casino apps have combined to break the state record for adjusted revenue four months in a row, including October’s $126.67 million.
Michigan iGaming Options Growing
There are more options for online casino in Michigan than ever thanks to some recent deals.
The online BetMGM Michigan Casino is now offering games from Anaxi, which is the real money gaming arm of Aristocrat Gaming. Anaxi’s online slot titles include Wild Wild Samurai, Pompeii Rising Jackpots, 5 Dragons Rising Jackpots and Miss Kitty.
Meanwhile, online slot machine titles from Everi Digital, including Triple Jackpot Gems, Crystal Star, Black Diamond plus almost 70 more, are now at Caesars Online Casino MI.
And the Hannahville Indian Community can again offer Michigan iGaming via Sports Illustrated-branded games. The casino had ceased online casino offerings last September when TwinSpires shut down its operations.
Taxes Dip Despite Revenue Record
Michigan’s cut of the online casino pie was a bit lower in January than the month before, with $24,858,288 going to the state’s coffers (down 12.9% from December’s $28,544,042 haul).
The news in January wasn’t good for Michigan’s retail casinos, which saw revenues drop 4.5% month-over-month, from $108,273,576 to $103,358,406.
Michigan’s virtual casinos were the only revenue-generator during January, because the state wagering tax at retail facilities fell 4.5% month-over-month, from $8,770,160 to $8,372,031. Those brick-and-mortar casinos chipped in 2.5% more in city taxes, from $13,414,183 to $16,299,650.
The online Michigan sportsbook apps, meanwhile, saw their handle drop 0.8% month-over-month, from $494,820,409 to $490,904,822 in January.
Michigan Sports Betting, January vs. December
Michigan Sports Betting Down in January
Michigan sportsbooks also saw a sizable drop in retail handle and adjusted wagering revenue in January.
The former fell 5%, from $16,082,392 to $15,277,683 in January, while the latter dropped from 44.6% from $32,392,247 in December to $17,956,188 in the first month of the year.
As far as wagering taxes are concerned, January had a 44.6% decline from the $1,943,935 raked in during December, falling to $1,182,537, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board report from January.
The biggest drop, when it comes to taxation, came from the state’s retail sportsbooks, which saw their state and city tax amounts drop 85.6% month-over-month.
In total, the retail facilities chipped in $8,940 in state wagering tax (down from $61,878 in December), to go with $10,926 in state taxes (down from $75,628 in December).
The Great Lakes State will look to right its sports betting figures in February, with “mega events” like Super Bowl LVII taking place.
