Michigan, which is a prominent market in the sports betting industry, couldn’t escape the summer slowdown that has started since the March Madness Tournament ended.
On Thursday, the Michigan Gaming Control Board released the monthly handle for May as operators registered a handle of $356.1 million.
Examining the Handle and Revenue for Michigan in May
Bookmakers in the Great Lake State noted that the handle dropped 10 percent from April’s total of $396 million. However, when comparing the year-over-year totals, the handle rose a solid 38 percent from May 2021’s numbers.
The handle will witness continuous decline as the NBA will enter the offseason. The NHL season will also end in a couple of weeks, which will drive the average betting volume down until the end of August, as May noted the lowest handle since August 2021.
The MLB season is currently taking place, but the Detroit Tigers have underperformed as the franchise is currently fourth in the AL Central. The Tigers have been unable to exceed expectations as the team has dealt with several injuries over the course of the season.
However, the team can be good in the future as the talent is slowly graduating from the minors. The farm system also has a few talented players at lower levels.
Despite a significant decrease in its monthly handle in May, sportsbook operators combined for a hold rate of 10.1 percent, which exceeds the national average of seven percent. Bookmakers were able to generate an adjusted gaming revenue figure of $35.9 million, which was the third-highest total since the mobile market launched back in January 2021.
Due to promotional credits, sportsbooks were able to deduct their taxable total by approximately $11.1 million to bring the taxable total to $24.8 million. The state was able to collect $1.2 million in taxes.
Breaking Down the Operators’ Market Share Numbers for May
Online sports betting continues to be the norm for bettors across the state as it accounted for $333.4 million or 93.6 percent of the overall handle.
FanDuel continues to dominate across several jurisdictions as the platform accounted for $99.4 million of the mobile wagers, or 29.8 percent of that sector. FanDuel also had a solid hold of 15.2 percent, which led to $15.2 million in revenue.
BetMGM continues to make its mark in the state as it has secured the second position for the third consecutive month. The operator had a hold of 11 percent and generated $8.8 million as the overall handle was just under $80 million.
DraftKings rounded out the top three but continues to lose market share since the start of the new year. Sportsbook took 69.1 million and had a hold rate of 7.3 percent, bringing in $5 million. The PlayEagle Casino & Sports in Soaring Eagle became the 15th operator in the state, and it took $994,747 in wagers and took a net loss of $14,884.
How Did the Casino Market Do for the Month?
Michigan is one of the states that host an iGaming market as online casino operators brought in gross revenue of $160.9 million. From April’s total, the handle showed a decline of one percent. Despite the monthly handle also being down 10 percent, the gross gaming revenue total went up nine percent.
Because of this, the state was able to bring in $24.6 million in taxes; Michigan’s iGaming market will most likely be the main focus as the sports betting handle will drop until the NFL season makes its return.
