Michigan posted the largest full opening month for any online sports betting state, topping $300 million in handle in January.
Michigan sports betting operators took in $302 million in handle, holding $9.4 million in gross revenue.
After accounting for bonuses, the sportsbooks actually saw net revenue of -$10.8 million, per the state report.
Michigan sports betting leader
The market continued to be something of a four-company party.
FanDuel, DraftKings, Barstool and BetMGM took 91% of the total online sports handle. That was down a touch from 96% in the first ten days of the market.
FanDuel was the market leader by handle with around 29% share. However that might have been bolstered by bonusing and customer-friendly results.
The operator lost money ($79,000) even before accounting for bonuses, and lost $5.4 million after bonuses.
Impressive month for BetMGM
For comparison, BetMGM was second by handle with a 25% share. However the operator made $5.3 million before bonus and $3.4 million after.
DraftKings came in third in handle with a 24% share. But like FanDuel, it lost money on a net and gross basis.
The firm lost $161,000 before bonuses and more than $5 million after bonuses.
Barstool leads the rest
Barstool Sportsbook rounded out the top four with a 13% share of handle.
The company made $1.9 million in revenue before bonuses but $-1.3 million after.
PointsBet was the next largest operator after that, with round a 2% share of handle.
Lots of bonuses, not so much tax
In total, the state has 11 active online operators.
For the month, those sportsbooks gave out more than $20 million in bonuses and paid $142,000 in state taxes.
Key takeaways from Michigan sports betting
Michigan sports betting is an interesting petri dish for the US market with all operators starting from an equal footing.
On the one hand, the concentration at the top lends credence to the idea that the US market will consolidate in the hands of a few. Analyst firm Eilers & Krejcik said in a recent note:
“Smaller online gambling brands have struggled to keep up with the big brands in virtually every US online gambling market. Per our tracking, the concentration of GGR share within the top 4–5 online gambling brands has unrelentingly increased over time, reflecting that the US market is fast becoming one for the scaled.”
But PointsBet presented an alternate view at its recent results day.
The company said it expected to struggle initially in MI as the big four had ready-made databases to activate. However that edge would dissipate over time and the smaller brands might take build share.
