Detroit Casino Win Declines Nearly 3% in 2023 to $1.22B

Posted on: January 9, 2024, 01:03h. 

Last updated on: January 9, 2024, 11:12h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Detroit casinos ended a two-year pandemic recovery in 2023, as gross gaming revenue (GGR) at the three brick-and-mortar properties declined.

Detroit casino revenue 2023 GGR
Hollywood Casino at Greektown gained market share in the Detroit casino industry in 2023. Legacy gaming, however, was collectively down more than 2%. (Image: Penn Entertainment)

The Michigan Gaming Control Board on Tuesday revealed that December win at MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino Hotel, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown totaled $111.4 million. The income includes GGR from the casinos’ physical slot machines and table games, but not sports betting or iGaming.

December represented a 2.9% year-over-year increase, and was the city gaming industry’s second-best month in 2023, behind only March, when GGR totaled $117.8 million. But December’s GGR gifts weren’t enough to turn the year-end gaming revenue report positive.

With 12 months of data on the books, Detroit’s 2023 casino win totaled approximately $1.227 billion from slots and tables. Compared with 2022, when the three commercial casinos won about $1.256 billion, last year represented a 2.3% year-over-year GGR decline.

MGM Maintains Market Lead

MGM Resorts’ Detroit casino once again led the three-casino market. MGM Grand Detroit won $564 million from legacy gamblers last year to account for 46% of the local gaming industry.

MGM Grand Detroit’s 2023 win represents a 6% year-over-year drop from when the casino won nearly $600 million in 2022. The casino also lost a bit of market share, as the $599.9 million in GGR it generated last year was nearly 48% of the city’s $1.256 billion haul.

MotorCity also lost market share in 2023. The casino owned by Ilitch Holdings, the investment vehicle of Mike and his widow Marian Ilitch, the founders of the Little Caesars chain and owners of MLB’s Detroit Tigers and the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, won more than $373.5 million from players last year.

MotorCity’s 30.5% market share represents a 1% decline from 2022, when the casino commanded 31.5% of the local industry.

MGM and MotorCity’s market share declines were grabbed by Hollywood Casino at Greektown. The casino operated by Penn Entertainment won $285.2 million on its slots and table games, representing a 23% market share. That’s up from 20.7% in 2022.

Penn acquired the operating rights to Greektown in May 2019 from Jack Entertainment, the casino firm controlled by Detroit billionaire Dan Gilbert of Rocket Mortgage fame. Penn paid $300 million for the operating privileges, while Caesars Entertainment’s real estate investment trust Vici Properties paid $700 million for the real estate.

Penn pays Vici an annual rent of about $56 million. Penn rebranded Greektown to Hollywood at Greektown in May 2022 to better align with the company’s portfolio of Hollywood-branded properties.

iGaming, Sports Betting Cover Losses

Michigan casinos easily offset their land-based GGR losses last year via their internet gaming platforms and retail and online sportsbooks.

The casinos’ retail sportsbooks won $14 million from bettors last year. December online sportsbook revenue hasn’t yet been reported. But from January through November, the casinos’ online sportsbook partners won $238 million.

MotorCity’s online sportsbook partner, FanDuel, dominated the internet betting space. FanDuel accounted for $164.5 million of the online sportsbook win.

iGaming continued its growth in 2023, as GGR from online slots and table games totaled more than $940 million. BetMGM, the iGaming partner of MGM Grand Detroit, led the online casino market with GGR of $539.3 million.