Great Start for Michigan Online Sports Betting

Legal Online Sports Betting Online Betting

Michigan Reports Impressive Start to Legal Online Sports Betting

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 22 February 2021

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

See Full Bio

The state of Michigan kicked off the New Year with legalized online sports betting, which was welcomed by industry officials and sports fans alike. Figures have now been released showing that the state got off to an impressive start with many people eager to place bets and take advantage of promotions during the first ten days of legalized online sports betting.

During the final ten days of January, the state’s online sportsbooks took in more than $115 million in sports bets. This came as fans within the state flocked to online sports betting platforms to wager on their favorite teams and sports.

The state now offers access to both online and retail sports betting, which gives fans more choice than ever when it comes to placing bets.

Enticing Bettors with Promotions

As is often the case following the launch of online sports betting, many sportsbook operators offered a range of enticing incentives and promotions after going live. This helped to bring more people on board, as many flocked to take advantage of the various promos that were advertised by different sportsbooks.

The combined handle among the online sportsbooks came to over $115 million, which resulted in gross sports betting receipts of $13.3 million. However, due to the variety of promotions offered over the course of the month, the online sportsbooks experienced taxable revenue losses of just over $5 million collectively. Betting throughout January brought in state tax revenue of more than $111,000.

Dustin Gouker, an analyst for Play Michigan, said that the circumstances surrounding the launch of online sports betting in Michigan really couldn’t have been better, as it came just before two of the biggest sports betting holidays of the year in the United States. He added that:

Ultimately, it’s a small sample size, and the results of which are less important than sportsbooks launching and engaging sports bettors and setting the groundwork to flourish for years.

The retail sportsbook handle in the state for January reached close to $36 million, and this meant a combined handle of nearly $151 million for both retail and online sportsbooks. This meant that Michigan set a record for the highest total monthly handle in a state debuting online sports betting, despite only offering online betting for 10 days. The last record was set in November 2020 by Tennessee.

Figures show that more than 76 percent of sports betting handle in the state was generated through online betting. Officials added that the amount that came from ten days of online sports betting in January was nearly equal to the total amount generated from retail sports betting over the course of last year – although the 2020 figure was affected by the pandemic.

A Move Welcomed by Sports Fans

Online sports betting has become hugely popular, particularly over the past year when many people have been unable or unwilling to visit retail venues due to the pandemic. The move to legalize mobile sports betting was welcomed by sports fans across the state.

It has also helped sportsbook operators to make back some of the money they lost last year, as well as enabled the state to bring in extra tax revenue after the devastation caused by the pandemic.