The three commercial casinos of Detroit saw gaming revenue halved due to the pandemic. The online gambling market is now a few days from launching in the state.
The figures were released by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). The three casinos MGM Grand Detroit, Motor City Casino, and Penn National Gaming Greektown. All three casinos combined generated revenue of $639mn last year, down by 56% from 2019 of $1.45bn.
MGM posted the biggest annual decline, with its table games and slots revenue fell down 58.8% to $257.1mn. MotorCity fell down by 54.9% to $227.7mn and Greektown tumbled down by 58.3% to $140.6mn.
Legal sports betting had not launched in Michigan. The retail betting operations added $18.3mn to 2020. The casinos were forced to shut for nearly five months mid-year due to the pandemic. The second closure came in November after COVID19 surged.
The MGCB held a public meeting on Tuesday, the timeline for launching the state-regulated online betting, casino, and poker market was revealed. Richard Kalm said that they are gathering information daily and very close. MGCB is expected to reveal the launch date, gambling license details by January 18. However, bettors are expected to place an online wager during the 2021 Super Bowl.
PointsBet has received an online provincial license. It has signed a multi-year strategic partnership with Detroit Red Wings. It includes the rebranding of the Sports and Social Detroit at Wings’ Little Caesars Arena.
BetRivers also has a similar agreement with Pittsburgh Penguins.
Inspirational Link: https://calvinayre.com/2021/01/13/casino/michigan-igaming-launch-detroit-casino-2020-revenue/
