Michigan Sports Betting Handle is Up

Sports betting handle for March was $497.6 million, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, while operators brought in $43.5 million in gross income. The amount handled increased by 18% when compared to the $421.7 million in wagers made in March 2023. The state might tax was $28.3 million in adjusted gross sports betting income after deducting promotional credits and bonuses, operator loss carryover from prior months, and the federal excise tax. As a result, the state’s coffers saw an infusion of $1.7 million, and the city of Detroit gained close to $737,000. This year’s first quarter gross sales was up 18.6% to $122.1 million over 2023, while adjusted revenue was up just 1% to $60.4 million. 

Check out the latest sports betting odds right now at Caesars.

The top three sports betting apps in Michigan are FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM. Their ranks are well-established and lengthy. Following its huge debut, ESPN BET is currently embroiled in a battle with Caesars for the top spot in the second tier. With a $795,000 handle, Caesars managed to hold off the sportsbook operated by PENN Entertainment and took $31.5 million in bets. But in the end, ESPN BET outperformed Caesars in March, earning $2.4 million in gross revenue from a 7.9% win rate, compared to $1.5 million from a 4.6% hold.

Without a sub-10% hold in two consecutive months since a four-month period from December 2021 to March 2022, FanDuel barely broke double digits with $18.6 million in winnings off $186.2 million in handle. This increased the internet giant’s lifetime income over $500 million and its handle total since debut over $4.5 billion.

With an 8.6% win rate on $126.7 million handle, DraftKings broke the benchmark by $861,000, extending its winning run of $10 million in a single month to seven. Through the first quarter of this year, it has taken in $400 million in wagers, a 31% increase over the same period in 2023.

At 9.3%, BetMGM recorded its greatest hold of the year, bringing in $6.1 million off a $66 million handle. However, compared to March 2023, its 2024 totals were significantly lower, with winnings down 37.2% and handle off 13.6%. The win % differed by almost 2.5 percentage points from the previous year.

The first full month of Fanatics Sportsbook’s operations in the Wolverine State following its platform migration from acquisition and precursor PointsBet was essentially successful. Fanatics held a 7% hold on profits of $1.4 million, and the $19.3 million handle was the biggest by either licensee since PointsBet took $28.2 million in wagers in December 2021.

BetRivers’ handle dropped to seventh place among operators as, as the Rush Street platform took in $11.6 million in wagers. With a 5.7% win rate that allowed it to surpass $650,000 in gross wins, BetRivers finished with a win percentage of less than 6.5% for the sixth consecutive month.

With a $480.4 million handling, mobile operators claimed $41.9 million in gross revenue overall, or an 8.7% hold. The online win rate exceeded the industry average of 7% for the fourth consecutive month. In the first quarter, the mobile hold was 8.2%, which resulted in $120.1 million in winnings from $1.46 billion worth of wagers.

Detroit’s three brick-and-mortar venues combined for a 9.3% hold from $17.3 million handling, with $1.6 million in retail income representing a solid comeback from the $120,142 loss recorded in February.

Greektown Casino erased a significant portion of its January deficit—which was more than $1 million—by winning $731,400 in March. Of the three casinos in Detroit, MotorCity Casino, which operates a physical sportsbook through FanDuel, had the best hold, at 13.7%. It is the highest of the three with $1.6 million in wins, having brought in $546,000 off a $4 million handle.Check out the latest sports betting odds right now at Caesars.