Detroit Casino Revenue for April Shows Small Dip

Hosting the NFL Draft didn’t bolster the three downtown Detroit casinos in the month of April.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board released the monthly revenue report for April 2024 on Tuesday, and despite the big crowd gathered for the three-day NFL Draft nearby at the end of the month, revenue was a tick lower than it was for April 2023.

The three casinos: the MGM Grand, Motor City and Hollywood Casino at Greektown (all within a two-mile radius) produced $109.44 million in monthly revenue for April 2024, with all but $1.57 million of that coming from retail sports betting.

The MGM Grand remained the leader in market share, with 46 percent, followed by the Motor City with 30 percent and the Hollywood Casino at Greektown at 24 percent.

Michigan’s tribal casinos are not obligated to report monthly revenue to the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Like so many other months, there were ups and downs in the Michigan revenue report.

The $109.44 million reflected a dip of 1.6 percent compared to April 2023, when there was no NFL Draft right next door. The figure was also down 11.8 percent from the previous month, but March is traditionally a bigger month for casinos as winter begins to weaken.

From Jan. 1 through April 30, Detroit table games and slot revenues are down 1.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

Looking at April of 2023, the only one of the three casinos to jump in revenue was the Hollywood Casino at Greektown which bumped up 0.6 percent to $25.33 million in revenue. The Motor City showed a loss of 4.5 percent compared to April 2023 with $32.69 million. The MGM lost almost a full percent but still had a healthy lead in overall revenue at $49.96 million.

Based on the April totals, the three Detroit casinos will pay out $8.74 million on taxes to the state of Michigan. The three institutions will also fork over $12.8 million to the city of Detroit due to contractual obligations.

The total handle for retail sports betting of $15.28 million at the three casinos was up by $1.5 million compared to April 2023. This could have been due to the popularity of University of Iowa women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark, who led her team to the NCAA Championship game. The total was down compared to March of 2024.

Hollywood Casino at Greektown reported the biggest take of the three retail sportsbooks with $578,000 in revenue, Motor City took in $516,000 in sports betting revenue, while the MGM had $475,000.

Expect Michigan’s retail and online iGaming industry to get a boost with the approval of Supremeland Gaming by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Supremeland is an online casino game provider started in November 2023 and has already been approved for game operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia.

“With approvals already in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia, our entry into Michigan underscores our dedication to serving players nationwide,” said Rickard Öhrn, the CEO of Supremeland Gaming, in a press release announcing the approval. “We are excited about the opportunities this new market brings and look forward to delivering innovative, engaging and responsible gaming solutions to the rapidly growing US iGaming community.”

Among the titles Supremeland is known for is Red Panda Rising, from PowderKeg Studios, with a return to player rate of 96.29 percent and Munition Mine.