Big Month For Detroit Casinos

The emerging sports betting industry in Michigan has been getting all of the attention, but the casino industry has been posting some significant numbers as well.

In March, the three commercial casinos in Detroit posted a revenue of nearly $114 million.

There are still some COVID-19 restrictions in place at the properties in Detroit, but it’s much better than what took place in March 2020. That was when the first COVID-19 restrictions were introduced by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and the casinos were forced to close.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board released these figures earlier in the week, and it tracks the total action and revenue at Greektown Casino, MGM Grand Detroit, and MotorCity Casino Hotel. Sports betting is also available at these locations, but all three companies rely on casino games to bring in revenue.

Retail sports betting at the three Detroit casinos brought in close to $3 million in revenue for March. The online sports betting numbers will be released at a later date by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

The MGM Grand Casino led the way for all Detroit casinos, bringing in just over $43 million in revenue. MotorCity was right behind the leader, while Greektown posted revenue of just over $25.7 million to finish in third place.

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting people greatly throughout the state of Michigan, Governor Whitmer is not looking to enforce any new COVID-19 restrictions. The state has been hit hard financially by the pandemic, and casino and sports betting revenue is needed.

The state is aware that the casino revenue numbers will continue to be down for much of 2021, but it’s encouraging that the numbers are heading in the right direction. There have been several months when the gaming industry has posted some net losses, and it will be months before those losses will be made up.

Comparing 2021 to 2020

The revenue from table games and slots accounted for a 93 percent increase year-over-year from March 2020. Once again, this is an unfair comparison as the casinos were shut down for much of the month.

All three properties had an increase of more than 80 percent from the March 2020 revenue numbers, and MotorCity saw the biggest increase. That property saw a jump of nearly 108 percent after posting $42 million in monthly revenue last month.

The state of Michigan was paid $9 million in casino revenue for March, and that was also an improvement from a year ago at this time. In March 2020, the three Detroit casinos paid the state $4.7 million in tax revenue, and that started a downward trend.

The first quarter in 2021 produced similar revenue numbers to the same time period in 2020, but there was a decrease of more than five percent. Retail sports betting during the first quarter was more than $7 million, and that number should continue to grow throughout 2021.

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