March marked another busy month for licensed online gambling and sports betting operators in Michigan. Details released by the state gambling regulator, the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), revealed that gross receipts during last month marked an uptick of nearly 20% month-over-month. At the same time, the betting handle also soared by nearly 20% when compared to February this year.
In total, tribal operators and commercial iGaming and betting providers in Michigan reported $257.1 million in total online gambling and betting receipts for March. Compared to the figure released a month earlier, in February, an increase of 17.7% is observed.
A year-over-year comparison also shows significant growth. In March 2023, the total reported receipts by iGaming and betting operators in Michigan halted at $216.4 million. This figure, compared to the latest data, shows that last month, the receipts increased by nearly 19%.
The betting handle also marked an uptick month-over-month and year-over-year. Back in March 2023, the total betting handle halted at $407.7 million. In contrast, this year, it increased by more than $70 million to $480.4 million. Similarly, the betting handle posted in February was $402.6 million, which means that the result in March was up by 19.3%.
Sports Betting and Online Gambling Continue to Generate Taxes
Additional details released by the MGCB reveal that iGaming and sports betting operators paid $41.1 million in taxes and payments to the state in March. A breakdown of that total reveals that an overwhelming majority of the taxes came from iGaming fees and taxes, a total of $39.4 million. On the other hand, fees and taxes from online sports betting were only $1.7 million.
The recently released report from the MGCB disclosed details regarding the proceeds for the city of Detroit from online betting and gambling. Overall, the monthly contributions from tribal operators last month were $4.7 million, while the city also collected $10.96 million from the three casinos in Detroit.
The $10.96 million in betting and iGaming taxes paid by the three casinos in Detroit breaks down to $663,132 in internet sports betting fees and taxes, as well as $10.3 million in fees and taxes from online gambling.
Recently, the gambling regulator in the state confirmed its intentions to clamp down on illegal gambling operations. At the time, the MGCB said that it planned to eradicate unregulated gambling machines and illegal gambling rings across the state.
Upon reaffirming its intention to combat illegal gambling, the regulator said that throughout last year, it sent 64 businesses cease-and-desist letters. As a result, some 167 illegal gambling devices stopped operating.