Detroit casinos hit by strikes as revenue slips to $82.8m in October

Some Detroit casino workers have been on strike since 17 October. This has led to the partial closures of casinos with certain facilities not being available for almost a month.

This inevitably hit monthly performance during October, with revenue down 19.5% from $102.8m last year. The October figure was also 18.5% lower than the $101.6m posted in September this year.

Breaking this down, Detroit tables games and slots revenue amounted to $81.7m, down 18.9% year-on-year. The total was also 18.3% behind September’s total.

The other $1.1m was attributed to sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR), a drop of 46.3% from 2022. Sports betting QAGR was also 28.6% lower than September. 

In terms of sports betting handle, Detroit consumers spent $18.1m wagering at casinos in October. This was a sharp drop from $34.2m in the same month last year but level with September 2023.

MGM the clear market leader in Detroit

Looking at each of the casinos, MGM remains the frontrunner in Detroit by some distance. The venue had a 46% market share, with $37.3m in casino and table games revenue, plus $365,705 in sports betting QAGR.

Behind MGM was MotorCity, which held 31% of the Detroit market in October. Casino and table games revenue at the casino hit $25.0m and sports betting QAGR $669,028.

Placing third was the Hollywood Casino at Greektown with a market share of 23% for the month. Revenue from casino and table games revenue was $19.4m, while sports betting QAGR reached $90,430.

In terms of tax, the three casinos paid $6.6m in gaming taxes to the state of Michigan during October. A further $10.1m was submitted in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the city of Detroit.

As for sports betting activity, this generated $42,531 in gaming taxes for Michigan. The casinos also reported $51,982 in wagering taxes to the city of Detroit.