Detroit Casinos Doubled Combined 2020 Revenue Last Year

2021 ended up being a good year for casinos in Detroit, MI. They came off a slow, COVID-19-ridden 2020 to recover some of their losses. However, they’ll need to continue to do better this year if they want to get back on track. Still, increasing revenue by over 100% from one year to the next is a solid jump.

Detroit Casinos Back in Action

Detroit’s three casinos saw several good months last year. When the final count was taken, they had earned $1.294 billion in combined revenue, according to figures from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). This is higher than the 2020 results that were greatly affected by COVID-19, but less than 2019’s record. That year, they generated $1.454 billion in revenue

The 2021 total revenue surpasses the almost $639 million revenue generated by MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Greektown Casino in 2020. In 2020, they were closed for much of the year due to COVID-19 limitations.

77% of the revenue came from slot machines, which made $998.8 million, table games generated $268.8 million and retail sports betting brought in $26.95 million. These totals do not include revenue from online gaming, which is reported separately.

MGM Keeps Control

According to the MGCB, revenue related to slot and table games increased by 104.2% last year to $1.27 billion. The three casinos reported gaming revenues that were nearly as high or higher than 10% compared to 2020. MGM Grand Detroit recorded $554 Million in gaming revenue. MotorCity had $438.3 million and Greektown had $274.5. million.

MGM Grand held 43% of the market share. MotorCity Casino had 35% of the market and Greektown had 22%.

The taxes on wagering revenue from slot machines and table games paid by the three casinos for 2021 was $102.6 million. That’s more than 100% higher than the $50.3 million they paid in 2020. The three casinos also paid $160.8 million in fees and development payments on slot and table game revenue to Detroit.

The combined retail sports betting revenues of the casinos were $26.95 million. These figures don’t include any monetary value of free play incentives. Greektown, the home of Barstool Sportsbook, was first with $9.47 million. MotorCity reported $8.69 million, while MGM earned $8.79 million.

MotorCity took a loss of $100,408 through sports betting at its FanDuel Sportsbook.

Detroit’s casinos paid $1 million in taxes tied to retail sports betting to Michigan last year. This was up from $690,865 a year earlier. They also contributed $1.26 million to the city through taxes related to sports betting.