Michigan Sportsbooks Smash Betting Handle and Revenue Records in December 2023

Michigan sportsbooks extended their streak of record-breaking months to three after a sublime outing in December 2023. The sports betting industry in the state closed out the year by setting new records across every known financial metric. All 14 sportsbooks combined to accept a whopping total of $613.4 million worth of wagers, with online platforms accounting for 95% ($583 million) of this figure.

Unlike November, however, Michigan online sportsbooks were able to retain even more revenue. Online revenue stood at $61.1 million, while the inclusion of retail and tribal sportsbooks brought the total gross receipts to $65.9 million.

Although Michigan sportsbooks started the year on a remarkable note, the state started to see a decline in May. This rough patch lasted till September when a late surge seemed to begin.

In its history, the Great Lakes State had never reported a wagering handle of $500 million or more in a single month. However, not only did the state’s operators cross this milestone, but since their rebound, Michigan sportsbooks have now had three consecutive record-setting months.

Compared to the $568.8 million online handle reported in November, December’s handle was up by 2.5%. Gross receipts also jumped by 11.5% in December, up from its previous high of $54.1 million recorded as far back as November 2021.

Up until the fourth quarter of 2023, 2022 was leading in terms of the total year-to-date betting handle. However, the last three months of the year combined to generate a massive $1.68 billion in wagers accepted. This was an impressive 17% increase on the $1.44 billion handle reported during the same period in 2022.

Overall, Michigan sportsbooks generated $4.63 billion in wagers for 2023, a 1.8% uptick from 2022’s handle of $4.55 billion. Interestingly, the bets accepted between October and December accounted for 36.4% of the yearly total.

The record-breaking revenue for December also culminated in a total gross receipt of $420.4 million for the year, a 5.2% jump from the $399.6 million revenue reported throughout 2022.

On Nov. 14, ESPN Bet officially began operations in Michigan, breaking the bank for one of the biggest promotional spends the state had seen in recent times.

For its full month in December, though, the operator cut its promotional budget by almost 40%. However, this would not prove to be detrimental as ESPN Bet went on to generate $55.2 million in online betting handle, which is 10.8% higher than it reported in November. Interestingly, its betting handle turned out to be PENN Entertainment's highest volume since January 2022.

ESPN Bet also recorded almost one percentage point growth in its market share, bringing it up to 9.5% from 8.8%. This brought the revenue up to a record $5.7 million, even though promotional spend led to a loss in adjusted gross revenue (-$4.1 million).

FanDuel Sportsbook Michigan bounced back to see off December with an emphatic finish. It accepted $228.3 million in wagers and had the highest hold of all operators in the state (12.6%), leading to a revenue of $28.7 million. DraftKings also generated a personal record handle of $169.9 million, while BetMGM remained in third place with $80.2 million in accepted wagers.

The overall betting hold in Michigan was 10.7%, almost double what the state reported in November. Essentially, this culminated in adjusted gross receipts of $35.1 million, representing a 14.3% increase year-over-year from 2022. Michigan state was able to generate a tax revenue of $2.6 million from the adjusted gross receipts while the City of Detroit collected $1.0 million. 

FanDuel bore most of the tax burden, as expected, paying a total of $2.2 million to the authorities. Tribal casinos, on the other hand, paid $4.3 million to their respective governing bodies in December.

The total annual sports betting tax revenue for 2023 stood at $22.2 million, with $15.8 million of this figure paid to the State of Michigan while $6.4 million went to the City of Detroit.