All About Michigan Handle And Revenue

The experts at BetMichigan.com have assembled this guide to explain what we mean when we talk about Michigan sports betting financial figures, which include handle, revenue, adjusted gross receipts and tax collections.

Michigan has one of the most expansive menus of legal gambling options in the United States. Michigan has Tribal and commercial casinos; retail and mobile sports gambling; and online casino games (also called iGaming) with options such as slots, table games and internet poker.

Tribal casino gambling in Michigan predated the commercial casinos in Detroit. In 1993, the state signed compacts with several federally recognized tribes in Michigan to conduct Class III gaming on their lands, but some tribal gaming operated even before that time. In 1996, Michigan voters approved commercial casino gambling for Detroit, which allowed for three casinos. They opened from 1999 to 2000. 

Near the end of 2019, the state legislature legalized a raft of gambling options, including in-person and online sports gambling, iGaming and fantasy sports. Commercial and tribal casinos could have retail sports betting and Michigan sportsbook apps. The first in-person sports bet was made in March 2020 and online sports gambling launched in early 2021.

Michigan Sports Betting, January vs. December

Michigan sportsbooks started the year with a record-shattering month for revenue, according to numbers released by the Michigan Gaming Control Board on Feb. 24.

January sports betting revenue in Michigan, from online and retail operators combined, was $57,273,261, with $54,750,176 of that coming online. That easily outpaced the previous mark of $39,941,648, which had stood since December 2023. That also helped the operators make up for December, a month in which bettors had great success at Michigan sportsbooks.

January’s total adjusted sports betting gross gaming revenue was more than 100 times greater in January than it was in December, in a month-over-month comparison, rising 10421% from the $544,390 collected in the final month of 2024.

Michigan also accounted for more than half a billion dollars in handle for the first month of 2025.

January sports betting in Michigan accounted for $574,628,174 in total wagers, from online and retail operators combined. That was down 6.9% from December ($617,500,845) and represented a slight decline in a year-over-year comparison with January 2024 ($601,585,142).

January mobile sports betting handle dropped 7.1%, from $597,733,281 in December to $555,243,269.

The total sports betting state tax saw a significant spike, shooting up 1289% from December’s $230,584 ($214,291 online) to $3,203,886 ($3,108,513 online) for January.

Across all forms of wagering at all facilities (sports and online casino from online, retail and tribal operators), Michigan reported a combined $287.9 million for total adjusted gross receipts in January, the MGCB reported.

Betting Handle Through The Months