Detroit’s three retail casinos reported $1.294 billion in yearly revenue for 2021, more than doubling the amount earned in 2020, which was greatly impacted by COVID-19. The results were announced by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
The 2021 results didn’t equal or surpass the record $1.454 billion reported in 2019, but were a huge bounce back from the aggregate revenue of $639 million reported in 2020.
MGM Grand Detroit led the way with 43% of the market in 2021, followed by MotorCity Casino with 35%. Greektown Casino earned 22% of the market, according to the MGCB report.
Slots generated $998.8 million (77%), while table games accounted for $268 million (21%). Retail sports betting brought in $26.95 million in qualified adjusted gross receipts, accounting for the final 2%.
Also Read: Here’s why the best Michigan Online Casino is Golden Nugget
Greektown Leads Detroit Casinos In Sports Betting Revenue
Greektown may have had the lowest market share among Detroit’s three casinos in 2021, but it brought in qualified adjusted gross receipts of $9.47 million. Qualified adjusted gross receipts are a casino’s gross sports betting receipts minus the monetary value of any free play incentives utilized by bettors.
MGM’s qualified adjusted gross receipts were $8.79 million, followed by MotorCity at $8.69 million.
The three casinos submitted $1.26 million in retail sports betting taxes to Detroit and $1 million in taxes to the state. By comparison, the three casinos paid the state $690,865 in 2020.
Also Read: Michigan Online Casino Refer-A-Friend Promo — Earn over $1,200
Slots And Table Games Gains See Major Rebound In 2021
Revenue for slots and table games grew by 104.2% to $1.27 billion in 2021. MGM led the way with a jump of 115.5% to $554 million. MotorCity’s revenue climbed 96.8% to $438.3 million, with Greektown seeing a 95.2% gain to $274.5 million.
For the state’s coffers, the three casinos paid $102.6 million in wagering taxes, compared to $50.3 million in 2020.
The city of Detroit made $160.8 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments on slots and table games revenue.
Also Read: Why are all the Live Dealer Games the same at Michigan Online Casinos?
COVID-19 Still Impacting Michigan Casinos
While COVID-19 is still impacting the gaming industry early in 2024, the impact in 2021 was far less severe than in 2020. The start of the pandemic saw Detroit’s three casinos shut down from March 16, 2020, to Aug. 5 for MotorCity and Greektown. The MGM Grand reopened two days later.
All three casinos were limited to 15% occupancy when they did reopen, in addition to numerous strict guidelines designed to protect the health of patrons and staff.
COVID-19 surged again in the fall of 2020, with the state shutting all three casinos on Nov. 18. MGM Grand and MotorCity reopened on Dec. 23, with Greektown opening the following day.
While there have been no shutdowns necessitated by COVID-19 since 2020, the ongoing pandemic led to all three casinos imposing mask mandates in November.