The state of Michigan is the latest to report their April Sports Betting numbers and while they revealed yet another jurisdictional handle and revenue dip, they also allowed the Wolverine State to reach an impressive milestone. The expected seasonal lull in sports betting activity has affected some states worse than others in the US scene – Michigan just happens to be one that had the biggest step back.
With no NFL or March Madness, the national sports betting scene is expected to be slow throughout the typically lean summer sports betting months. That said, April’s figures, although disappointing, allowed Michigan to reach a lifetime handle-mark of $1.03 billion. Michigan becomes the fastest state to reach the $1 billion handle mark, having just launched January 22.
The Handle
Michigan’s April sports betting earnings report came out Friday and revealed the reality of the Super Bowl and March Madness hangover that most, if not all of the sportsbooks in the country experienced.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) revealed at $249.9 million April sports betting haul, which represents an eye-opening 30.5% month-over-month drop from the $359.5 million sportsbooks reported in March, when the industry was in the throws of the most bet-on tournament in history, the NCAA Basketball tournament.
Michigan does things a bit differently than other jurisdictions with respect to their reporting. The $249.9 million was its online handle only. When combined with the $24.3 million retail total that were released separately, Michigan’s total handle came to $274.2 million, which is also a major 29.7% decrease from the $383.7 million in March.
Revenues and Other Pertinent Numbers
It was Michigan’s online sports betting platform that once again dominated their overall handle with 91% of the state’s bets reportedly coming from wagering apps. As mentioned, that amounted to $249.9 million.
Revenues also took a major hit in the month of April. Michigan sportsbooks reported a troubling 38% drop in profits during April to $21.9 million, thanks in part to a 7.9% hold rate that was also down from 9.2% in March. The revenue drop is the largest percentage decline reported in the US legal sports betting scene so far.
After all of the revenues for the Michigan market were added up, just $499,763 in tax revenues were collected for state and local coffers.
Michigan in May
While sports betting slowdowns are expected across the entire US legal sports betting scene, there is a sense that Michigan could avoid the slowdowns that are expected to plague the industry on the whole. It is expected that the ramping up of the MLB season and playoff action in both the NBA and NHL could keep the industry afloat.
But like the rest of the participating legal sports betting states, Michigan sportsbooks are being forced to wait on September, when the NFL returns to action. So, while Michigan’s first 99 days of operation have been impressive, the best may be yet to come for the Wolverine State.
With every one of the elite sports betting providers now operating in Michigan and with those entities battling hard for a bigger market share, Michigan bettors may just benefit from the widespread wooing by participating providers.
Michigan will likely be able to keep their spot as a top-5 legal sports betting state in April and through the summer months. The market there is strong, its mobile platform is consistently responsible for 90% of their overall handle and Detroit’s three retail sportsbooks should start to see some upticks with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
Calculators
