Detroit’s three commercial casinos–Greektown, MotorCity, and MGM Grand, reported $639 million in aggregate revenue over the course of 2020. The Michigan Gaming Control Board press release compares this with record breaking 2019 revenue, which reached over $1.45 billion.
The revenue drop was widely expected due to the ongoing spread of Covid-19. Amidst the pandemic, Detroit’s casinos were forced to stay closed from march 16, 2020 to 4, 2020. Then once again the properties closed from November 18 through December 22.
Revenue Breakdown
Table games and slots accounted for 97 percent of revenue, reaching $620.4 million. Of that revenue, slots accounted for 78 percent and table games contributed 19 percent. Retail sports betting brought in 3 percent for a total of $18.3 million. Compared to 2019, revenue fell 57.3 percent due in large part to the pandemic. Here’s the revenue rundown by casino:
MGM Grand Detroit
MGM Grand Detroit nabbed 41 percent market share in 2020. The casino’s 2020 table games and slots revenue dropped 58.8 percent to a total of $257.1 million.
MGM Grand earned $8.2 million from retail sports betting.
MotorCity
MotorCity earned 36 percent market share while the property’s table games and slots revenue revenue dropped almost 55 percent to $222.7 million.
On the retail sports betting side, MotorCity drew in $6 million.
Greektown
Detroit’s Greektown casino snagged 23 percent market share, declining 58.3 percent to $140.6 million.
Greektown earned $4.1 million in retail sports betting revenue.
Online Betting A Glimmer Of Hope
Though Detroit’s casinos experienced a sharp drop in revenue, there remains one possible savior for the Michigan properties and the state’s many tribal casinos: online gambling.
In an MGCB meeting on January 12, 2020, Executive Director Richard S. Kalm said he expects online sports betting and online casino operators to be approved for launch either this week or next.
This paves the way for online operators such as BetRivers, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and others to launch online offerings in the very near future. These platforms could provide a much-needed revenue spike for Michigan gaming operators.
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