WynnBet’s Online Casino and Sportsbook License Acquired by Caesars in Michigan

New details emerged, on Tuesday, that WynnBet will be exiting the Great Lakes State. This development is a result of the agreement reached with Caesars Entertainment for the acquisition of Wynn Resorts' iGaming and sports betting license in the state. It also coincides with Caesars’ plans for a major online gaming expansion in the state.

This purchase will see Caesars gain access to the WynnBet Michigan online casino license in partnership with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which owns and operates Kewadin Casinos. In addition, the sportsbook license is also included in the agreement.

However, the agreement requires a pending regulatory approval by the Michigan Gaming Control Board before it becomes valid.

Caesars new deal grants it access to the WynnBet iGaming assets as it partners with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which operates five tribal casinos in Michigan’s upper peninsula. This will allow Caesars to further operate more digital brands in Michigan.  

Matt Sunderland, the Senior VP & Chief iGaming Officer for Caesars Entertainment, confirmed this in a press release. 

“The assumption of WynnBet’s iGaming operations in Michigan allows us to tap into a significant market and customer base, providing a crucial step forward in growing our digital products and offering players more ways to play. We are honored to work with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and look forward to growing with them in Michigan,” Sunderland remarked. 

Currently, there is no information regarding the financial costs of the rights from Wynn. The agreement, according to a press release, will see Wynn and Caesars receive “non-cash consideration” subject to the approval of the Michigan Gaming Control Board. 

As soon as Caesars is able to take over the new operation, current WynnBet customers will be transferred to Caesars’ Michigan iGaming platform.  

During the quarterly earnings call, Caesars Executive Vice President and CFO Eric Hession indicated that the new Caesars brand should be unveiled toward the end of the year. It will give Michigan iGaming players “an alternative” from the Caesars Michigan casino app that they can switch between or use exclusively. 

At the moment, Caesars already partners with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. There is also the Caesars Palace Casino Michigan, which it launched as a standalone online casino application in August.

On top of this, Caesars also has a casino option as part of Caesars Sportsbook Michigan. Both offer a different number of games and features. This latest development means Caesars will now have three different iGaming options for customers in Michigan.

The company intends to launch this new acquisition as its own standalone brand in Michigan, separate from Caesars Palace and Caesars Sportsbook. According to Caesars’ plans, WynnBet online casino will be transitioned to “one of the flagship gaming brands” within its Caesars portfolio later this year. The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians looks forward to a great offering from Caesars.

“It was paramount that our next partner in iGaming possessed both expertise in the U.S. iGaming market and a history of strong partnerships in Indian country. We believe we found that with Caesars and look forward to being part of their new iCasino offering,” said Austin Lowes, Chairman of Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, in a press release.

Over a period spanning the last half of 2023 and the first months of 2024, Caesars has been able to establish itself as a top-five online casino in Michigan. The company, carrying a lifetime share of 3.7% in the Michigan online casino revenue market, earned $176.4 million over its lifetime in the state.

Caesars recorded a minimum of $9 million in monthly revenue for three consecutive months, going as high as $10.2 million in January alone. This was a new monthly record for the operator and represented a 5.6% market share for the month.

On the other hand, WynnBET has been trending in the wrong direction throughout 2023 while closing operations around the state. This is despite amassing $156.9 million in online casino revenue over its lifetime in Michigan. WynnBet peaked with a 3.7% Michigan market share in February 2023 before dropping to 6% in November 2023 and rising to 1.8% in January 2024 when it earned $3.3 million in monthly revenue.

In August 2023, WynnBet announced plans to close online operations in eight different states. At the same time, it put Michigan’s operations “under review” without disclosing any further information. However, it was clearly connected to its declining monthly online sports betting market share in Michigan which had fallen below 0.1% at the time.

There are only two states, Michigan and Arizona, with online operations for WynnBet. It is clear that this new deal with Caesars was bound to happen as Wynn was well on its way out of the online gambling industry.