Michigan Sees Significant Increase in January Sports Betting Revenue

The Michigan online sports betting market is just over a year old after it launched on Jan. 22, 2021. Handle numbers have continued to impress into 2022 and for the first full January of gaming, the state turned in a handle of $532.7 million, up 3.5% from December’s $514.6 million.

By comparison, in Michigan’s first 38 days since launching in 2021, taking the end of January and the first full month of February, $417 million in bets were placed online.

Mobile sports betting made up $496.8 million of the handle in January 2022, 2.5% more than December’s $484.6 million.

January’s retail handle was $35.9 million, 19.3% more than December’s $30.1 million.

Michigan’s January total adjusted sports betting gross gaming revenue was $21.1 million ($19.2 million online, $1.9 million retail), up 75.2% from December’s $12 million ($10.9 million, $1.1 million retail).

The total sports betting state tax for January was $1.4 million ($1.4 million online, $73,070 retail), up 84.5% from December’s $785,564 ($738,067, $47,497 retail).

Michigan Sports Betting January vs. December

FanDuel Edges DraftKings for Top Handle

FanDuel Sportsbook recorded the highest handle of Michigan’s 14 online operators, taking in $132.7 million in bets, edging out DraftKings for the top spot. DraftKings had a handle of $132 million.

BetMGM was third in handle at $110.9 million, while Barstool ($49.9 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($35.5 million) rounded out the Top 5. PointsBet had the sixth-highest handle at $12.9 million and was the only other sportsbook to reach the $10 million mark in handle.

FanDuel was the most profitable of the operators, reporting $8.7 million in adjusted gross sports betting receipts. DraftKings had $5.3 million in adjusted gross sports betting receipts, while BetMGM was third with $5.2 million.

Michigan continues to have one of the stronger online sports betting markets in the country because of the numerous local teams available to bet on.

Passionate fans can back the Detroit Lions in the NFL, the Pistons in the NBA, the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans in college basketball and the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL. There are also the other Division I colleges in the state, such as Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan, that can draw betting interest.