As with many other states across the US, 2019 marked the date where regulation had started to change for Michigan with bills passing to allow both online sports betting, and the less common ability to offer online gambling too – although it had to go through some initial review process, the Michigan Gaming Control Board were quick to grant a number of different licenses to launch, and over the past two years the state has managed to put up some fantastic numbers and looks to continue breaking it’s own records in the coming months too.
January managed to break records once again with online sports betting – operators were able to take in nearly $500 million in bets with the retail sector hitting just shy of $40 million with the online space increasing 2.5% from December and breaking the previous records set. Revenues did drop slightly at $34.7 million compared to Decembers $34.8 million, but close enough to not be a concern – the additional week of NFL games certainly helped this figure too.
Online casinos and online Poker figures were also able to fair very well too – both sectors won $121.2 million which had slightly fallen behind the December figures but still an increasing number, but with the iGaming industry taking more time to take off compared to the sports betting industry these figures are only the start of the expected growth and may provide larger numbers in the future too. With tax rates and tribal payment rates for sports betting at 8.4% and online casinos between 20% and 28%, it’s still a sizeable monthly figure to be coming back to the state too.
It’ll be a testament to success if the numbers can continue to show similar success in the coming months too, when sporting events enter a break period these numbers will certainly drop from the sports betting side of things but may provide an opportunity for iGaming services to grow in their stead, and with other big global events still on the way throughout 2022 too with the likes of the World Cup for Soccer, it may provide a unique opportunity to post even higher numbers yet to come – other states will be looking to Michigan and others that have both sports betting and iGaming services regulated as a blueprint to follow, and although sports betting is becoming a more common occurrence, iGaming hasn’t been as widely accepted, as such showing success in this space on a continued basis may help to change perceptions across the US.