The state of Michigan has been seeing some big iGaming numbers throughout the calendar year in 2023, but October proved to be the most profitable month on record. A handful of mobile sportsbooks posted record numbers for the month and that pushed the online sports betting handle to $553 million.
Several states throughout the country have already been posting some records for October, but Michigan was actually seeing a decrease in sports betting action at times. Five full weekends of football action in October allowed the sportsbooks to see more action than they ever have before.
Not only was the overall handle number staggering in the state of Michigan, but some individual operators put up eye-popping numbers. Michigan sportsbooks have been attempting to draw customers back in, and the plan seemed to work last month.
A Look at Some Operators
FanDuel Sportsbook was at the top of the list for the month of October as it posted a total sports betting handle of $173.4 million. Not only was that the best month for the operator in the state, it’s the most that any one single operator has ever posted in a month.
DraftKings Sportsbook was next on the list with a total handle of $147.4 million, and it was the second straight month that it set a personal record. Those two sportsbooks continue to lead the way in the state, but others were able to chip in to boost the numbers.
BetMGM brought in $80.5 million in wagers for the month of October, but that was just the second-best month this year for the operator. That site got off to a massive start back in January with a total handle of more than $100 million.
BetRivers appeared to be the biggest winner of the month as it came out of nowhere to post a handle of $45.5 million. That number was just $7.4 million in October 2022, and that shows massive growth for one of the mainstays in the market.
The other notable operator was Caesars Sportsbook, and its handle increased by 25% from what was recorded in September. These other three operators are still trying to chase down the giants in the market, but seeing growth is the most important thing.
Online Casinos Thriving
While sports betting tends to get the most nationwide attention, Michigan sees more revenue from online casino gambling each month. The online casinos in the state posted some massive numbers as well.
Michigan has now seen $1.56 billion in revenue in the 2023 calendar year, and that has them just barely in third place in the United States. New Jersey is sitting in second place with $1.57 billion, and Pennsylvania is once again on the top of that list.
Michigan had a total revenue of just $1.28 billion through October in 2022, and that means that there has been significant growth this calendar year. BetRivers has helped to lead the charge when it comes to online casino gambling in Michigan as it set a record for revenue last month.
The state of Michigan is actually making more on the online casino revenue than some of the other states as there are less promotional dollars that are being spent. Online casinos then cannot subtract that from the totals, which means that more money is given back to the state.
