Michigan Sports Betting Sees Record Month in October, Plus Other Key Takeaways

Like most states in October, Michigan sports betting had a record month and saw a substantial increase in handle, topping $400 million in online wagering for the first time since the market launched in January.

The October mobile sports betting handle in Michigan was $463.3 million, up 30.8% from September ($354.3 million). The old record was $359.5 million in March.

Retail sportsbooks in Michigan reported their October handle last week and came in at $34.2 million, up 5.2% from September’s $32.5 milion.

The total sports betting handle for October was just under $500 million ($497.5 million). That was an increase of 28.6% from September’s $386.8 million. It’s also a new record, breaking the mark set last month.

Michigan Sports Betting, Oct. vs. Sept.

	Total handle	Mobile handle	Revenue (GGR)
October	$497.565M	$463.344M	$7.334M
September	$386.780M	$354.252M	$3.480M
Change	Up 28.6%	Up 30.8%	Up 110.8%

Here are three takeaways from the Thursday online report from the Michigan Gaming Control Board:

Mobile Rules in Michigan

The mobile handle was 93% of the Michigan sports betting market in October. The October mobile sports betting handle of $463.3 million easily surpassed the previous record by more than $100 million.

The percentage of bets placed online rivals the numbers that larger, more established states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania saw in October. Both also had record-setting months.

A 15th online sportsbook will be coming to Michigan as Kambi and Saginaw Chippewa Gaming Enterprises announced a partnership for retail sportsbooks at two tribal casinos and an online sportsbook.

Other Numbers Strong in Michigan

The October total adjusted sports betting gross gaming revenue was $7.3 million — $4.7 million from online and $2.6 million from retail. That was an increase of 110.8% from September’s $3.5 million total.

The state did see increased taxes from sports betting at $652,884 ($552,907 online, $99,977 retail), up 17.1% from September’s $557,758 ($426,873 online, $130,885 retail).

FanDuel Michigan led among online sportsbooks. Partnered with the MotorCity Casino, FanDuel posted $124 million in online handle. That edged DraftKings Michigan, partnered with the Bay Mills Indian Community, which had a handle of $120.4 million. BetMGM Michigan was third with $102.2 million.

That was the first time the Big 3 each topped $100 million in online handle in Michigan.

All Sports Collide in Michigan

It’s a great time to be a bettor in Michigan.

The NFL is entering Week 11 and the NBA and NHL seasons are in full swing, giving those in Michigan a lot of options.

Those options in October included college football, and the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans are having strong seasons. The two teams squared off on Oct. 30, with the Spartans winning 37-33 in a thriller.

Although the Detroit Lions have yet to win this season (last week’s 16-16 tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers was close), they have the traditional Thanksgiving Day game coming up.

But you need to be careful betting with your heart on the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. By the numbers, it hasn’t been much of a winning proposition since 2000.