Admin February 26, 2024
Michigan online sports betting begins: What you need to know
Michigan authorities are letting casinos and their partners to allow online sports bets more than a year after gambling was made legal here.
Tyler J. Davis, Wochit
A recent study found that people in Michigan gamble the most of any state — but they’re not going into casinos.
The American Gaming Association, a trade group for casinos in the United States, released a study detailing the revenue brought in from in-person and online gambling in 2023. According to the study, Michigan leads the nation in money wagered with $1.92 billion bet on poker, blackjack and other online casino games.
The study found that the commercial gaming industry set a new revenue record for the third year in a row. In 2023, $66.52 billion was the total revenue between land-based casino games, sports betting and iGaming. The iGaming industry, where Michigan placed the most money, grew 22.9% from 2022 to $6.17 billion in 2023.
Here is where Michigan ranks for gambling.
Most popular states for gambling
Michigan topped the list of the largest online gambling markets for 2021, 2022 and now 2023. New Jersey technically tied Michigan as both had $1.92 billion in revenue, but Michigan outperformed by $115,500.
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Connecticut
- West Virginia
Most popular markets for gambling
It should come as no surprise that the Las Vegas Strip tops the chart for gambling year-over-year. In 2023, the area saw $8.833 billion. This is almost $6 billion more than the following market. Detroit ranks No. 8.
- Las Vegas Strip, Nevada: $8.833 billion
- Atlantic City, New Jersey: $2.859 billion
- Chicagoland, Illinois: $2.191 billion
- Baltimore-Washington D.C.: $2.081 billion
- Gulf Coast, Mississippi: $1.590 billion
- Queens-Yonkers, New York: $1.553 billion
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: $1.374 billion
- Detroit, Michigan: $1.237 billion
- St. Louis, Missouri: $1.072 billion
- Boulder Strip, Nevada: $964.7 million
Michigan casino growth
As can be expected, with the large increase in online gambling, physical casinos in Michigan have taken a hit in the last year. In 2023, Michigan had the fourth largest decrease in traditional casino gross gaming revenue with a -2.7% decline.
The Great Lakes state was beat out in decreases by Indiana, Maryland and Mississippi. Indiana saw the largest decrease in 2023 with a -3.4% drop in gross gaming revenue.
