The Michigan online casino market pushed higher than $100 million for the second month in a row in October, with a record $109.7 million total revenue. The biggest piece of that was captured by BetMGM Casino, while DraftKings Casino MI put in a solid showing for second place.
October was another record month in the Michigan online casino market, which includes revenue from online poker as the regulator does not break it out into distinct numbers.
Gross receipts for October in Michigan capped $100 million for the second month in a row and hit a record of nearly $110 million in total.
While BetMGM Casino owns the biggest share of that market with Oct revenue of about $41.4 million, DraftKings is perhaps putting on a more interesting revenue show from second place. With just under $20 million in total for October, DraftKings is still half the size of the leader, but its $19.6 million revenue pushed it to a clear lead against rival FanDuel Michigan for second place in the market.
After spending most of the year in a close battle for second with FanDuel, October was the first month in the history of the market that saw DraftKings take over a clear second place. While both operators battling for second managed to increase their revenue in October, DraftKings’ increase was around twice the boost of FanDuel’s.
DraktKings Makes a Push to Second while BetMGM Increases in #1
Market leader BetMGM MI has been on a slow upward pace in revenue for the past few months in Michigan, with a nearly straight trend line from $39.7 million in August to $41.4 million in October. With nearly 38% of the market, there is really no one else in contention at the moment to eclipse its lead.
The more interesting battle has been occurring for second place. FanDuel jumped out to an early second-place spot, but DraftKings quickly found a way to get into the fight, and from April through July, the two posted nearly identical revenue numbers in a tight battle for the second spot.
August saw DraftKings take a bit of a hit, dropping to $12.6 million, its lowest revenue month since the first partial month of January this year. Since then, however, DK has surged, matching FanDuel’s revenue in September and surging ahead in October to post its biggest month ever at $19.7 million.
While BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel are far from the only players in the Michigan market, they are by far the big three, accounting for over 70% of the market between them. That leaves barely $30 million in revenue for the other 11 operators to fight over.
Rush Street (BetRivers) was the best of rest, posting about $7.2 million in revenue for October for fourth place overall, while three operators, Golden Nugget, Penn Sports/Barstool, and Wynn, are in a battle for fifth place. Golden Nugget holds that spot now with $5.2 million, but Penn Sports/Barstool has been on a run for the past few months, jumping from eighth place in August to fifth place in October, adding about $2 million to its revenue along the way.
The online casino market in Michigan is still quite fresh, without enough data yet for year-on-year comparisons. While it seems clear that BetMGM owns the lead for the time being, the battle for second place in Michigan is one to watch.
