July sees dip in Detroit’s retail sports betting numbers

July was a rough month for the retail sportsbooks in the city of Detroit, but a slow sports betting calendar had a lot to do with the results.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board will release the full July sports betting totals later this month, but it was a slow month for in-person betting.

The overall sports betting handle at the three Detroit sportsbooks was just $18.3 million, and that represented a decrease of nearly 25% from June. This was also the lowest total recorded at these locations since the month of February.

The three Detroit casinos that offer sports betting are the Greektown Casino, MotorCity Casino, and the MGM Grand Casino. These properties had severe restrictions placed on them during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but have been operating normally since the beginning of the year.

Major League Baseball was the only major professional sport that was played throughout the month of July, and the ending of the NBA season hurt the numbers. The total and revenue is expected to head in the right direction again soon as the NFL will kick off the regular season next month.

Michigan online sports betting continues to be the most popular way to bet on sports in the state of Michigan, and that portion of the industry launched at the end of February. Even though mobile sportsbook apps are more convenient, these commercial casinos were enjoying a boost in traffic for the first half of 2021.

A recent surge in COVID-19 numbers could affect the retail sports betting industry in the coming months as some casinos are now requiring masks to be worn on the property again. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has not yet announced any restrictions to casino policies, but that could be coming if the numbers don’t improve.

Barstool Challenging the Big Names

The three sports betting companies that offer retail sports betting in Detroit are BetMGM, FanDuel, and Barstool Sports. BetMGM and FanDuel are two of the biggest names in the iGaming industry, but Barstool has emerged as a leader in the state of Michigan.

Barstool has partnered with the Greektown Casino, and it was a runaway leader in terms of retail sports betting handle last month. The total in July was $8.6 million, and that is now the third time that Barstool has led the market for total handle since the start of 2021.

FanDuel is the sports betting partner of the MotorCity Casino, and it leads all three operators with $59.6 million in total handle since the start of 2021. This operator has also led the market three times so far in 2021, but it came in third place for the month of July.

BetMGM is the sports betting partner of the MGM Grand Casino, and it has been on top just one time so far in 2021. The numbers in July were actually good for BetMGM as it posted a total sports betting handle of $5.1 million.

For the month, the three casinos combined for just $1.2 million in sports betting revenue.

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