Detroit casinos hit by strikes as October revenue falls to $82.8 million

Some casino workers in Detroit have been on strike since October 17th. This has resulted in casinos being partially closed and certain facilities being unavailable for almost a month.

This inevitably hurt October’s monthly performance as revenue fell 19.5% from $102.8 million last year. October’s figure was also 18.5% lower than September’s $101.6 million this year.

Broken down, table gaming revenue in Detroit was $81.7 million, down 18.9% year-over-year. The total was also 18.3% lower than the September total.

The other $1.1 million was in qualified adjusted gross revenue (QAGR) for sports betting, a decrease of 46.3% from 2022. Sports betting QAGR was also down 28.6% from September.

When it comes to sports betting, Detroit consumers spent $18.1 million on casino wagers in October. This was a sharp decline from $34.2 million in the same month last year, but was on par with September 2023.

MGM is the clear market leader in Detroit

Looking at individual casinos, MGM remains by far the frontrunner in Detroit. The venue had a 46% market share, with $37.3 million in revenue from casino and table games, as well as $365,705 from sports betting QAGR.

MGM was backed by MotorCity, which held 31% of the Detroit market as of October. Casino and casino table gaming revenue was $25.0 million and sports betting revenue was $669,028.

Third place went to Hollywood Casino at Greektown with a 23% market share for the month. Casino and table gaming revenue reached $19.4 million, while QAGR from sports betting reached $90,430.

Tax-wise, the three casinos paid $6.6 million in gambling taxes to the state of Michigan in October. An additional $10.1 million was transferred to the city of Detroit in betting taxes and development agreement payments.

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