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Taxable revenue for Detroit’s three brick-and-mortar casinos might have increased in February 2024 compared to the same month in 2023. However, it was not to be.
Losses when it came to in-person sports betting at two of the three properties doomed that premise. The third property’s numbers showed what might have been otherwise for the month.
Detroit’s poker, slots, and table games revenue treads water in February
According to the Michigan Gaming Control Board’s casino revenue figures, taxable revenue from poker, slots, and table games at Detroit’s three commercial casinos amounted to $104.7 million for February 2024. Those properties are:
- Hollywood at Greektown
- MGM Grand
- MotorCity
That total from all three properties represents a marginal decline compared to Detroit’s casino revenue in February 2023. The Hollywood at Greektown casino was the only of the three to individually report a modest gain in year-over-year numbers.
That separation between Hollywood and the other two properties was even more pronounced in terms of revenue from in-person sports wagering.
Physical sportsbooks in Detroit had a rough month
Altogether, the sportsbooks inside these three casinos lost $124,853 in February 2024. However, those losses were not evenly distributed between the three Detroit-based retail casinos in Michigan.
Hollywood at Greektown’s sportsbook had a winning month, although not winning enough to overcome losses at the other two books. With all of this gaming activity combined, Michigan stands to collect over $8.4 million in tax revenue from these casinos.
Meanwhile, the casinos owe over $12.5 million to the City of Detroit for taxes on their gaming revenue from February.
While the Michigan Gaming Control Board has yet to report figures for Michigan online casinos and sports betting for February, Detroit’s physical casinos are doing little to contribute to the growth of the gambling industry across Michigan for the current fiscal year.
Fiscal year is trending down for Detroit casinos
Through February, the current fiscal year has seen Detroit’s three casinos report over $790.8 million in taxable gaming revenue across all segments. That’s a decline of nearly 6% compared to the same period in FY2022-23.
There are mitigating factors to consider in that comparison, however, Most importantly, a work stoppage at the three Detroit casinos in October and November 2023 severely limited the availability of gameplay at the casinos.
Additionally, general inflation has been heated the most during earlier months of the current fiscal year compared to the past period. Often, when budgets are tight, discretionary expenses like entertainment are the first that people cut.
Regardless, it looks like Detroit’s casinos will have work to do in the final four months of the current fiscal year if they want to avoid a substantial decline in the final tally. Avoiding more months like February in terms of sports betting win would help in that endeavor.
