(WWJ) -- Online gaming and sports betting remain highly lucrative for the state of Michigan, despite taking a large dip in sports wagering last month.
The state is receiving nearly $18 million in taxes from internet gaming and online sports betting after Michigan operators reported $111.9 million in gross receipts for the month of July.
That’s a 25% increase compared to June, in part due to a reduction in June receipts by MGM Grand Detroit’s first free play deduction since launching in January.
Online casinos carried most of the weight in July, a month notoriously light on sports. With no football driving numbers, Michigan’s internet sports betting operators posted $19.6 million in total gross sports betting receipts, while internet gaming gross receipts totaled $92.3 million.
Sports bettors were limited to baseball and novelty bets such as Olympic events and golf during July, leading to about a 20% dip in numbers from June. Casino games, however, continued to thrive, bringing about $17.1 million in taxes to the state.
Taxes and payments are based on adjusted gross receipts, which were $83.1 million for internet gaming and $12.4 million for internet sports betting during July. Adjusted gross receipts include deductions for the monetary value of free play incentives provided to and wagered by bettors. The operators delivered more than $17.8 million in taxes and payments to the State of Michigan including:
-- Internet gaming taxes/payments: $17.1 million
-- Internet sports betting taxes/payments: $762,220
Locally, Detroit’s three online casinos reported city wagering taxes and municipal services fees of $4.8 million for:
-- Internet gaming taxes and fees: $4.4 million
-- Internet sports betting taxes and fees: $377,223
The three casinos had a strong month for in-person gaming as well, bringing in just under $117 million in aggregate revenue for the month of July.
MGM Grand Detroit had a 46% market share, with $53.8 million in revenue, while MotorCity Casino’s revenue was $38.5 million (34%) and Greektown Casino reported $23.4 million (20%).
The three casinos paid $9.4 million in gaming taxes to the state for July.
Full numbers for Detroit’s three casinos can be found on the Michigan Gaming Control Board website, as well as the full report on online game numbers.