Detroit Casinos Report Nearly $639M in 2023 Revenue

With 2023 over, the impact of the coronavirus on the Detroit commercial casino industry is evident in the final yearly revenue reports.

MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino and Greektown Casino reported nearly $639 million in aggregate revenue during 2023, down 57.3% from the record $1.454 billion yearly revenue reported in 2019. Table games and slots produced 97% of the 2023 revenue at $620.4 million, while retail sports betting recorded 3% of the revenue at $18.3 million.

Due to health concerns, the Detroit land-based casinos were first shut down from 3 p.m. on March 16 through Aug. 4. A second state-mandated closure came on Nov. 18 and lasted through Dec. 22. And when the casinos were operating during the pandemic, they enforced capacity limits issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

MGM held the highest market share with 41%, while MotorCity had 36% and Greektown tallied 23%. MGM’s year-over-year gaming revenue fell 58.8% to $257.1 million. MotorCity dropped 54.9% $222.7 million, and Greektown decreased 58.3% to $140.6 million. Overall, slots contributed 78% of revenue and table games provided 19%.

For 2023, the Detroit casinos paid $50.3 million in wagering taxes to the state of Michigan. The taxes paid were a sharp decrease from the $117.8 million paid in 2019 on slots and table games revenue, according to the report from the MGCB.

The three casinos also reported making $73.8 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the city of Detroit in 2023.

Retail Sports Betting and Taxes

The three casinos reported aggregate retail sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts of $18.3 million for 2023. MGM led the way with $8.2 million and was followed by MotorCity at $6 million and Greektown at $4.1 million.

The casinos reported a total sports betting handle of $130.88 million for 2023. The first retail sports bets were taken on March 11, but the closure of the casinos on March 16 soon halted sports wagering in the state. Besides the shutdowns, sports leagues across the world also paused, hindering the state’s sports betting handle and potential profits.

Together, the three casinos paid $690,865 in taxes for retail sports betting to the state of Michigan and reported submitting $844,391 in retail sports betting taxes to the city of Detroit.

December 2023 Results

MGM, MotorCity and Greektown reported $23.93 million in monthly aggregate revenue for the month of December. Each of the casinos were forced to operate at limited capacity for nine days due to COVID-19 health precautions. Table games and slots made up $22.05 million in revenue, while retail sports betting generated $1.88 million in revenue.

The December revenue for table games and slots dropped 82.8% from December 2019, and the December 2023 monthly revenue fell 54.1% compared to November of this year.

At MGM, December revenue dropped 86% to $7.59 million compared to December 2019. MotorCity’s revenue fell 79% to $9.09 million, while Greektown was down 82.1% to $5.37 million.

For December, the three casinos paid $1.8 million in wagering taxes to the state of Michigan, down from the $10.4 million they paid in December 2019.

The three casinos also reported making $2.6 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the city of Detroit, according to a report from the MGCB.

For December, the total sports betting handle at the casinos was $9,720,393. They reported $1.88 million in retail sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts with MGM at $776,788. MotorCity recorded $646,003 and Greektown had $460,449.

During December, the casinos reported paying $71,186 in retail sports betting taxes to the state and $87,006 in retail sports betting taxes to the city of Detroit.