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Detroit Casino Revenue Finds A Balance As Michigan Online Casinos Surge
By Drew Ellis
Published:
There’s no denying that Michigan online casinos are still in a growth pattern.
Revenue records seem to be set almost every month, and yearly projections don’t seem to have a limit.
While the iGaming landscape continues to thrive, the three Detroit commercial casinos have found a leveling off point.
Though the three locations haven’t been able to approach the revenue totals they hit prior to the pandemic, there’s still steady cash flow coming in despite a lot of obstacles over recent years.
Detroit’s 2025 Revenue Just Below 2024
Detroit has three commercial casinos that operate in the downtown area. They are the MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown.
The 2025 revenue for the three casinos through seven months has been similar to what they have seen in recent years. Overall, it is down less than a percentage point compared to 2024, but three of the seventh months have seen revenue growth year over year.
| Month | 2024 Revenue | 2025 Revenue | Percentage Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | $93,904,688 | $102,299,593 | 8.9% |
| February | $104,759,798 | $98,013,728 | -6.4% |
| March | $122,262,266 | $116,784,353 | -4.5% |
| April | $107,872,951 | $109,447,648 | 1.5% |
| May | $111,341,364 | $112,730,957 | 1.2% |
| June | $104,554,380 | $100,379,545 | -4.0% |
| July | $106,303,231 | $105,975,725 | -0.3% |
| Total | $750,998,678 | $745,631,548 | –0.7% |
The data suggests that 2025 has been more consistent with its revenue than 2024. The high this year wasn’t quite as high, but the low also wasn’t nearly as low.
Detroit Levels Off as Online Casinos Grow
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Detroit was seeing record revenue for its three casinos. The $1.45 billion it did in 2019 was an all-time high.
The slow return from the pandemic eventually led to a leveling off for Detroit, as yearly revenue since 2020 has ranged from $1.22 billion to $1.28 billion.
As that has played out, online casinos debuted in Michigan in January 2021. The first year of revenue was $1.11 billion, but has since more than doubled that total in 2024. Here’s a look at the revenue numbers from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
| Year | Detroit Casino Revenue | Online Casino Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $1,444,099,784 | Didn’t Exist |
| 2019 | $1,454,274,694 | Didn’t Exist |
| 2020 | $620,385,028 | Didn’t Exist |
| 2021 | $1,266,762,531 | $1,113,999,385 |
| 2022 | $1,256,974,742 | $1,582,454,458 |
| 2023 | $1,222,794,216 | $1,923,857,570 |
| 2024 | $1,282,455,806 | $2,441,154,468 |
Michigan Online Casinos Up 27% in 2025
The initial projections for iGaming in Michigan have been surpassed by a wide margin.
Through seven months of 2025, Michigan online casinos are already at $1.72 billion in revenue. That alone is more than all of 2021 or 2022, respectively. After August’s numbers come in, the total is likely to have surpassed 2023’s mark as well.
This year’s OC revenue is already over 27% ahead of where it was a year ago. Through July, Michigan’s iGaming had generated $1.35 billion in 2024.
Through seven months, the state is averaging over $245 million in monthly online casino revenue. Prior to 2025, Michigan had never hit $245 million in revenue for any month in its online casino history.
Should Michigan continue this pace, it will surpass $2.9 billion in annual iCasino revenue. The last quarter of the year has trended toward being the strongest revenue months each year, so $3 billion isn’t out of the question. If the 27% growth rate holds, the state would hit $3.1 billion in 2025 revenue.
Each new record just brings in more tax revenue for the state as well. Initial projections when Michigan pursued online casinos was around $40 million in annual tax revenue. The first year of 2021 brought in $201.7 million in state tax revenue and another $77.6 million in local taxes.
In 2024, Michigan online casinos generated $451.4 million in state tax revenue and another $168.7 million in local taxes. This year’s iGaming has already generated $330.0 million in state tax revenue and another $124.7 million in local taxes.
Detroit Casinos Face Consistent Adversity
Aside from the pandemic, the Detroit casinos have faced additional challenges in recent years to have an impact on revenue.
In 2023, all three casinos suffered from a workers’ strike. A total of 3,700 union workers that were employed by the respective casinos and hotels hit the picket lines. Beginning in mid-October, the strike lasted throughout November before ending on Dec. 2.
While the casinos remained open, all were forced to close off large portions of the gaming floor. Ultimately, that led to a projected loss of over $50 million in revenue. Before the strike, the Detroit casinos were on pace to top 2023’s yearly revenue of $1.26 billion, but instead settled for just $1.22 billion.
Detroit seemed to bounce back from that in 2024, with $1.28 billion in revenue, a high since the pandemic. This year has seen similar numbers, but a massive construction project in front of Hollywood Casino at Greektown could hinder one of the casino’s 2025 numbers.
The Monroe Street project has limited accessibility to Hollywood Casino at Greektown and that won’t be changing anytime soon. The project started in March and is expected to last into the summer of 2026.
Thus far, the project appears to be having an impact on revenue for Hollywood Casino. It’s 2025 revenue March-July is down nearly 3% compared to 2024. That’s a dip of almost $4 million at this point, which would significantly close the gap in total Detroit casino revenue from 2025 compared to 2024.
OC Revenue Making Up for Detroit Dip
From 2006-2019, Detroit casinos reached at least $1.3 billion in revenue. While it feels like a long shot to ever get to $1.45 billion again, the $1.3 billion mark is a reasonable target for the three casinos to chase.
Each of the three also sees a share of the revenue done by their online partner, BetMGM, FanDuel, and ESPN Bet/Hollywood Casino, respectively. That helps make up for the losses suffered since the pandemic.
With the additional tax revenue the state is getting from online casinos, the addition of iGaming has been a big win for raising overall gambling tax revenue in Michigan.
In 2019’s record year, the Detroit casinos brought in $117.8 million in state tax revenue and $184.2 million in Detroit city tax revenue.
In 2024, Detroit casinos recorded $103.9 million in state tax revenue and another $158.7 million for Detroit. Online casinos added an additional $451.4 million in state tax revenue on top of $168.7 million in local taxes.
Drew Ellis has experience covering the gambling industries in North America and around the world. Decades of media experience provide him with the background to handle the complexities of different gambling laws and policies around the United States and North America. Ellis has primarily focused on online and retail casino news since 2021. Prior to working in the gambling industry, Ellis spent over 20 years in the newspaper industry, covering sports and the gambling. His work for The Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun and The Oakland Press was recognized with awards by the Associated Press and other media organizations. Drew has also contributed to the Detroit Free Press and the Associated Press.