Michigan Casino Revenue Rises 1.2% Year-on-Year, As Online Poker Expands

Monthly revenue from Michigan’s three commercial casinos reached $114 million last month, with slots and table games producing $112.7 million of the overall figure and retail sports betting generating just $1.3 million. 

According to figures published by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which announced the appointment of Jim Ananich as Board Chair the same month, combined figures for May represent a 3% increase on April’s revenue, from $109.5 million to a 1.2% rise on last year’s May return of $111.3 million. 

Overall, the commercial sector is on course to match the $1.29 billion recorded in 2024, having reached $539.3 million for the first five months of 2025. That is still some way short of the $1.45 billion revenue record, set in 2019, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

MGM Grand Leads the Way

All of Michigan’s in-person non-tribal casinos are based in Detroit. The most significant revenue contributor was Downtown-based MGM Grand Detroit, which returned a revenue figure of $53.1 million for May, up 2.4% from last May and accounting for 47% of the market. 

MotorCity Casino, which is located in the North Corktown neighborhood to the west of Downtown, also showed a year-on-year rise, hitting $33.9 million in revenue in May. 

However, Hollywood Casino at Greektown failed to match its two rivals, being the only casino to record a decline in May, with revenue dropping from $25.7 million to $25.6 million, a slight decrease of 0.2%. 

Michigan Casinos Face Sports Betting Decline

While casino revenue remains strong, the May 2025 figures reflect a significant drop in sports betting revenue. Detroit’s three casino venues are licensed to provide retail sports betting, but this segment’s revenue fell by 36.1% year-on-year. 

The biggest fall came at the MGM Grand, where sports betting revenue fell by 86.1% from its May 2024 figure, dropping from $545,028 to $72,060 year-on-year. 

However, the overall effect on the sector has been minimal, as sports betting accounts for just 1.1% of casino revenue.  

Michigan Green Lights Rush Street Poker Expansion

While the state’s commercial casino sector continues to perform strongly, there has also been some recent good news for Michigan poker players. 

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has announced that it has approved Rush Street Interactive’s application to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, after the company was found to have met all of the Board’s regulatory requirements. 

The multi-state agreement includes online poker gaming in New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, and Michigan, providing a combined pool of players and bigger potential prizes for poker tournament winners than with single-state play. 

Michigan joined the Agreement in 2022 and has now licensed four operators to provide multi-state poker gaming, including two tribal operators: the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.