Michigan Reports All-Time Highs in Sports Betting in November
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Michigan has been on an incredible roll with sports lately. The University of Michigan made its first College Football Playoff bid, #1 overall pick Cade Cunningham is putting together an exceptional rookie season, and the Lions finally got their first win of the season. However, the most impressive piece of the action for the state has been the continued growth in its sports betting market and the record-breaking month of November.
November Brings All-Time Sports Betting Highs
In November, Michigan reported $500.5 million in total sports betting handle via online and retail bets, not including the three tribal casinos, which are not required to report monthly numbers. Michigan became the fifth state to generate $500 million in sports bets in a single month, joining New Jersey, Nevada, Illinois, and Pennsylvania as the only states to accomplish that feat. November narrowly beat out October’s previous record of $497.6 million in bets by 0.6%. October had the benefit of five weekends leading to extra football betting, so November’s success is even more impressive when considering how the calendar was laid out.
In addition to the increase in volume, Michigan set an all-time revenue record with $58.8 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) on the strength of an impressive 11.7% hold rate, the state’s highest since its launch in January. The expected industry average hold rate is around 7%, so this profitability is impressive for Michigan. The $58.8 million revenue increased by over 115% from October 2021 and beat the previous record of $35.2 million in March by over 65%.
Most Successful Sportsbooks
DraftKings leads the way as the most successful sportsbook in Michigan as it reported $126.3 million in total wagers in November, representing a 26.7% market share. DraftKings also reported $13.1 million in revenue on the strength of a 10.3% hold rate. In partnership with Bay Mills Casino, a tribal casino with the Chippewa, DraftKings did not report its retail handle or revenue.
FanDuel came just behind DraftKings in its total handle at $124.1 million (including $8.8 million in the retail handle), a 24.3% market share. Still, its revenue of $20.1 million far outpaced DraftKings on an unheard of 16.1% hold rate.
BetMGM was the third-most successful sportsbook in Michigan in November with a total handle of $110.4 million, representing a 21.3% market share which is more than it has in most states as DraftKings and FanDuel typically far outpace other sportsbooks. BetMGM reported revenue of $13.1 million on an 11.8% hold rate.
Barstool reported $49.6 million in total handle in November (8.7% market share) with revenue of $4.8 million (9.7% hold rate); Caesars reported $37.8 million in total wagers placed (8.0% market share) with $3.5 million in revenue (9.2% hold rate); PointsBet reported $27.2 million in its total handle (5.4% market share) and revenue of $1.6 million (5.9% hold rate).
Record-High Tax Revenue
In addition to the record numbers in volume and revenue, Michigan took in an all-time high of $1.6 million in state taxes and just under $930,000 in taxes to the city of Detroit. For the year, Michigan sports betting operators have paid $7.5 million in state taxes and $4.9 million in taxes to the city of Detroit. Per Legal Sports Report, the state of Michigan has now collected over $10 million in all-time tax payments from sports betting activity.
