The revenue from the three commercial casinos in Detroit plummeted to $82.8m in October, a significant decline from last year’s $102.8m and September’s $101.6m as a result of ongoing strikes affecting the venues in Michigan.
The strikes, which began on October 17, led to partial closures of the casinos and the unavailability of certain facilities for nearly a month. This disruption inevitably impacted the monthly performance, with overall revenue dropping by 19.5% compared to the same period last year.
Breaking down the figures, Detroit’s table games revenue amounted to $81.7m, an 18.9% decrease year-on-year. Additionally, sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) saw a significant drop of 46.3% from 2022, amounting to $1.1m in October.
In terms of sports betting handle, Detroit consumers spent $18.1m wagering at the casinos in October, a substantial decrease from $34.2m in the same month last year. MGM retained its position as the market leader in Detroit in October, holding a 46% market share with $37.3m in casino and table games revenue.
MotorCity followed with a 31% market share, generating $25.0m in casino and table games revenue. The Hollywood Casino at Greektown held a 23% market share for the month, with revenue from casino and table games amounting to $19.4m.
In terms of tax contributions, the three casinos paid $6.6m in gaming taxes to the state of Michigan in October, along with a further $10.1m in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the city of Detroit. Sports betting activity generated $42,531 in gaming taxes for Michigan and reported $51,982 in wagering taxes to the city of Detroit.
Overall, the impact of the ongoing strikes was clearly reflected in the declining revenue and performance of the Detroit casinos in October.