Last year was the first year the state of Michigan sanctioned online gambling sites, and they produced significant winnings of off players.
Gamblers lost $1.4 billion to online casinos and online sportsbooks combined, according to numbers from the Wolverine State released Tuesday. The internet casinos generated $1.1 billion in revenue, while the online sportsbooks won just over $292 million. The total was slightly lower when factoring in free promotional bets.
“Combined 2021 adjusted internet gaming and online sports betting adjusted gross receipts were $1.1 billion, including $1 billion from internet casino gaming and $110.6 million from online sports betting,” the Michigan Gaming Control Board said. “Adjusted gross receipts include deductions for the monetary value of free play incentives provided to and wagered by bettors.”
The total sports gambling handle for the year was $3.7 billion.
As for Michigan’s piece of the pie, the state-sanctioned gambling sites made $208.94 million in taxes and payments to the state of Michigan during 2021 including:
Internet gaming taxes and fees: $201.67 million
Online sports betting taxes and fees: $7.27 million
The three Detroit casinos reported paying the City of Detroit $59.35 million in wagering taxes and municipal services fees during the year including:
Internet gaming taxes and fees: $55.28 million
Internet sports betting taxes and fees: $4.07 million
Tribal operators reported making $22.39 million in payments to governing bodies.