Michigan Sports Betting Down in May

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has revealed the gaming industry numbers for May, and it was a disappointing month for sports betting.

Michigan has seen tremendous growth since launching online gambling in January, but the sports betting numbers are headed in the wrong direction.

The total sports betting handle in May was $257.8 million, a drop of nearly six percent from April. This is the second straight month that the total handle has fallen after the industry set a new monthly record in March.

Nearly all of the sports betting was done online as the state posted a handle of $237.6 million with mobile bets. That was a drop of 4.9% from April and ultimately led to the overall decrease in numbers.

The adjusted gross receipts for the entire industry, both online and retail, totaled $11.7 million in May. That was a drop of 5.6% after the April adjusted gross receipts were $12.4 million.

When the state announces the adjusted gross receipts, it removes the free bets and other promotions that are offered from the sportsbooks. These are given out in an effort to attract new business as customers sign up to take advantage of the promotions.

Despite the overall drop in handle, the state did receive a boost in sports betting tax revenue in May. Operators in Michigan combined to pay out more than $615,000 in taxes, and that was nearly double what was paid out in April.

Barstool Sportsbook is one of the operators that is seeing the biggest drop in sports betting numbers, and that comes after a terrific start. Barstool held 23 percent of the market share in January, but that operator had just 7.7 percent of the market share last month.

Big Three Leading Online Gaming

Once again, the three biggest operators in Michigan led the way in both sports betting and online casino gambling. BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel have posted big numbers since the launch in January, and their lead over the other operators continues to grow.

When it comes to sports betting, FanDuel is the clear leader as it has posted the highest handle in all five months since launch. In May, the total sports betting handle at FanDuel was $77.6 million for a revenue of over $10 million.

DraftKings moved into second place in the sports betting race, finally being able to slide past BetMGM. DraftKings had a total sports betting handle of $66.7 million in May, and BetMGM came in at $59.5 million.

Those three operators made up nearly 80 percent of the total market share in May, and that number has continued to get larger every month.

When it comes to online casino gambling, the same three operators remain on top, but the order is changed up a little bit. BetMGM had over $36 million in revenue in the month of May, and it holds a 36 percent market share.

FanDuel and DraftKings combined for just over $32 million in revenue last month, but they are well behind the leader.

If you want to stay up to date on the latest MI sports betting news and MI online casino info, then make sure to come back and check our news blog.

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