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PlayMichigan.com: Online sportsbooks make modest gains while online casinos set revenue record

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Volume at Michigan’s online sportsbooks narrowly ticked up in August to more than $192 million, pushing Michigan past $2 billion in online and retail wagering for the year. The modest gain did not lead to more revenue, though, as sportsbooks set the stage for four of the busiest months of the year, according to PlayMichigan, which analyzes and researches the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market.

“August marks the beginning of the most important stretch of the year for sportsbooks,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayMichigan.com. “It only takes a few college games, the NFL’s preseason and futures bets to show the importance of football to the industry. But the small number of games in August is merely a precursor for the next four months.”

Michigan’s online sportsbooks took in $192.3 million in bets in August, up 2.3% from $188.0 million in July, according to official data released Thursday by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. With $16.3 million in retail wagering in August, which was announced earlier this week, Michigan’s online and retail sportsbooks accounted for $208.6 million in wagering, up 1.1% from $206.3 million in bets in July.

Gross gaming revenue from online betting fell 18.8% to $15.9 million from $19.6 million in July. With retail revenue included, the state’s sportsbooks combined to win $17.5 million for the month, a drop of 15.6% from July. Taxable revenue from online bets landed at $9.2 million, which generated $757,405 in state and local taxes.

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The relatively modest bump in sports betting volume was enough to push past $2 billion in online and retail wagering all-time, and for the year. Michigan sportsbooks have tallied:

  • $2.2 billion in wagering since launch, including $2.1 billion this year alone.
  • $189.0 in gross gaming revenue, including $170.8 million in 2021.
  • $8.9 million in state and local taxes, including $7.4 million in state and local taxes this year.

“The hot start after launching online betting in January was the key in hitting $2 billion in wagering this soon, but it is remarkable growth, no matter how you view it,” said Matt Schoch, lead analyst for PlayMichigan.com. “Tax revenue has been somewhat underwhelming so far. As the market continues to mature, and promotional spends begin to slow, hopefully tax revenue improves.”

DraftKings took the online market lead with $61.4 million in wagers, up from $53.4 million in July. Gross gaming revenue rose to $4.4 million from $3.1 million in July. FanDuel fell to No. 2 in the state with $47.7 million in wagers, down from $54.5 million in July. The bets in August produced a market-best $4.8 million in gross sports betting revenue, down from $7.8 million in July.

BetMGM was third in the state with $43.7 million in wagers, up from $41.0 million in July. That total produced $3.9 million in gross receipts, down from $5.0 million in June.

The online market leaders were followed by:

  • Barstool ($13.1 million handle, down from $13.6 million in July; $741,707 gross revenue, down from $1.4 million)
  • Caesars ($10.0 million handle, up from $7.5 million; $162,383 GGR, down from $252,708)
  • PointsBet ($6.2 million handle, down from $7.8 million; $939,617 GGR, up from $849,524)
  • BetRivers ($3.1 million handle, up from $2.6 million; $236,884 GGR, up from $224,089)
  • Fox Bet ($2.5 million handle, down from $2.7 million; $328,911 GGR, up from $252,873)
  • FireKeepers ($1.1 million handle, up from $367,354; $109,987 GGR, up from $44,048)
  • TwinSpires ($1.0 million handle, even with July; $109,846 GGR, down from $138,911)
  • WynnBet ($883,496 handle, down from $2.3 million; $95,820 GGR, down from $357,718)
  • Golden Nugget ($668,503 handle, up from $623,977; $3,049 GGR, down from $98,615)
  • Four Winds ($483,992 handle, up from $318,987; $16,666 GGR, down from $35,979)
  • Parx ($455,331 handle; $87,231 GGR)

“Football is not only the main draw for most existing bettors, it is also the primary vehicle for each sportsbook to grow its customer base,” Schoch said. “The promotional offerings and seemingly wall-to-wall advertising that we’ve already seen shows how aggressive Michigan’s operators are and will continue to be over the next couple months.”

Online casinos and poker set fresh record

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Gross gaming revenue at Michigan’s online casinos and poker rooms rose to a record $97.2 million in August, up 5.3% from $92.3 million in July. August’s revenue was up to $3.1 million per day over the 31 days of August from $3.0 million per day in wagers over the 31 days of July. That total yielded $17.9 million in state taxes and $6.9 million in local taxes.

August marked the fifth time in the past six months that revenue topped $90 million. August also was the first full month of live dealer online casino games, which launched in late July, helping to boost revenue.

Since launching in January, online casinos and poker rooms have generated $672.6 million in revenue and $166.6 million in state and local taxes.

“Michigan’s online casinos continue to grow, and with live dealer games now in the fold, there is no reason to believe that will end soon,” Ramsey said. “For all the interest in sports betting, it is the state’s online casinos that have proven to be the bigger benefit to the state, dwarfing sports betting in tax revenue.”

Other highlights from August:

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  • BetMGM/MGM Grand Detroit topped the online casino and poker market with $39.7 million in gross gaming revenue, which yielded $10.5 million in state and local taxes.
  • FanDuel/Motor City was second, with $14.2 million in gross receipts and $3.7 million in state and local taxes. DraftKings/Bay Mills was third with $12.6 million in gross receipts, producing $3.2 million in state and local taxes.
For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting in Michigan, visit PlayMichigan.com/news.

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Hacksaw Gaming Advances to West Virginia with BetMGM Partnership

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Before the turn of the last year, Hacksaw Gaming took its long-standing relationship with BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator, to new heights as the pair celebrated their successful debut in West Virginia. The entry followed closely on the heels of Hacksaw games becoming available on BetMGM’s Ontario site in May, which signified their first stop on the North American front. As Hacksaw gains momentum with licensing, so has the impact of its game portfolio. The studio plans to deepen its roots in America alongside BetMGM by widening its base to New Jersey in the coming months.

BetMGM stands prominently among the top 3 uncontested sportsbooks in the state of West Virginia. With slots constituting the majority of the game selection on the BetMGM West Virginia casino app, the addition of Hacksaw’s captivating themes and gameplay elements offers West Virginians a compelling gaming escapade to remember. The first batch of games included chart-toppers Joker Bombs and Outlaws Inc., serving as an exclusive sneak-peak into the diverse offerings of Hacksaw Gaming. The games were featured and positioned in lucrative spots on the online casino site to amplify the impact of the launch. More Hacksaw titles have been introduced on the site since, captivating players within a community expected to grow exponentially.

Reflecting on the journey, Marcus Cordes, CEO of Hacksaw Gaming, expressed, “Joining BetMGM on the mission to put Hacksaw Gaming on the map has been an exhilarating experience. We are making excellent progress.”
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Adam Greenblatt

Marriott Bonvoy and BetMGM Unlock a New World of “Play, Earn, Stay” with New Rewards Connection

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Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s award-winning travel program, and BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator, launched an unprecedented rewards collaboration in the online sports betting and iGaming industry, giving fans an extra stake in the game.

Players in licensed states can link their Marriott Bonvoy and BetMGM accounts and earn BetMGM Rewards points when they wager using the BetMGM sports betting app or play at the award-winning online casino. They can then exchange BetMGM Rewards points for Marriott Bonvoy points, up to 100,000 points annually, which they can then use to redeem extraordinary experiences, including future free nights with Marriott Bonvoy’s more than 30 hotel brands and 10,000 destinations globally.

“The collaboration with Marriott Bonvoy is a monumental differentiator for us. This partnership will extend our brand to millions of potential new customers while offering our players the unique benefit of utilizing their gameplay to tap into the world of Marriott Bonvoy’s unrivaled portfolio of experiences,” said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt.

BetMGM offers a seamless user interface to earn BetMGM Rewards points and then transfer those points for Marriott Bonvoy points through the app’s rewards store. Linked accounts will have access to participate in exclusive games, experiences, and offers on the BetMGM platform.

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“This landmark collaboration between Marriott Bonvoy and BetMGM goes beyond hospitality and gaming, unlocking new opportunities for members to ignite their passions and deepen connections with the people and places they love. We are excited to welcome BetMGM members with more global access to more than 30 hotel brands,10,000 locations and a growing portfolio of exclusive and curated member experiences including sports, music, art, and culinary events around the world,” Peggy Roe, EVP and Chief Customer Officer at Marriott International, said.

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Allan Petrilli Managing Director of Acquire.bet

Social media: the new frontier for betting engagement?

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Since the dawn of the internet, social media platforms have been a great way for people to stay in touch. And as mobile technologies have continued to advance, we’re now more connected than ever. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t have a social media presence nowadays.

From Facebook and Instagram to LinkedIn and even TikTok, social media apps have become a staple of our daily lives. So, it’s no surprise that gambling brands are looking towards such platforms as a means of tapping into new audiences.

We spoke to Allan Petrilli, Managing Director of Acquire.Bet, and Troy Paul, CEO and Co-Founder of SGG Media, to ask whether social media is going to become the next battleground for audience engagement.

 

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BetMGM recently made the news after partnering with the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in a deal which has made the operator the first online sportsbook embedded within a major social media platform. In your view, what could this agreement mean for the industry?

Troy Paul: It is a very smart play for BetMGM. If operators want to reach the new generation of gamblers, aged 21 to 40, they MUST establish a solid presence on social media.

Ultimately, social media is where this generation gets their news, sports updates, scores and share content with their groups of friends. Ignoring the power of social media would be a big mistake.

 

Could partnerships with social media platforms be the way forward for gambling operators to reach new demographics of players? If so, what impact could such agreements have on player engagement, and subsequently, player acquisition costs?

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Allan Petrilli: Deals such as the one signed between BetMGM and X, or DraftKings and Apple Sports, are examples of sports betting brands getting more creative in how they plan to boost brand awareness and consumer trust. They are deviating away from the more traditional advertising models such as TV and other forms of above the line media.

Focusing specifically on the BetMGM agreement, X is a vibrant, passionate community that is heavily engrained in sports. It really seems like a great fit for what BetMGM is trying to do from a brand perspective.

X is also a hotpot of bettors, and this will ensure they are more heavily engaged with the brand. When it comes to lower customer acquisition costs (CAC), that is yet to be determined, as they haven’t released specifics of the deal. As it always goes, it depends on what they paid…

Troy Paul: Absolutely! Partnerships between social media platforms and gambling operators will be key for those who want to communicate with the more digital conscious bettors. If you then compare this to advertising verticals such as television and radio, social media advertising is also much more cost-effective.

 

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Affiliates can be an effective way to engage with bettors across social media platforms. How can gambling companies better use affiliates to build a social media following?

Allan Petrilli: Micro-influencers are becoming more popular than ever as a significant driver of affiliate traffic, and this is due to their strong follower engagement and brand loyalty.

Many affiliate companies have SIGNIFICANT social presence and have already established their own communities. These types of partnerships can effectively give brands access to a whole new demographic of customers in a more organic fashion.

Operators needs to continue to offer their social partners a more organic way to drive traffic, with shareable bet slips, better deep-linking and more thoughtful partnerships. As these partnerships become more commonplace, operators, affiliates and social media partners will need to collaborate much more closely to find the most effective strategies to build new communities.

 

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As more operators turn their attention towards social media as a marketing tool, how can they best stand out from the crowd? Could we soon see more brands getting creative with their campaigns?

Troy Paul: Social media should be used to create a COMMUNITY of sports fans, and sports gamblers. You cannot create a community by sending only ads. You must create fun, readable, informative CONTENT and occasionally drop in an ad or sign-up link. Content is King in this regard.

As the sports gambling world continues to mature, the smarter, savvier operators will continue to use social media as a means of retaining their customers and creating a social media-led community of loyal customers that not only enjoy their content but also continue to bet via their brand.

Allan Petrilli: Standing out from the crowd isn’t going to be an easy task. You really need to establish your brand identity. The real question is: who is going to be the Paddy Power of the US market, right?

In the US, I think that so far, we have seen quite a buttoned-up approach to social media. I do expect that to change, but I think that change will be quite slow at first. This is where micro-influencers could play a major role, they could really offer a big win potential for sportsbooks and casinos.

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Just from what I have seen, I think that many brands can take a much more localised approach on social media. The power for targeting is there, the time is not to have creative, offers, etc that match the local bettor to better engaged, convert and retain them.

 

With that in mind, what role can multimedia assets, such as video and audio, play in driving brand recognition?

Allan Petrilli: Creative content, along with more engaging offers, are the lifeline of any campaign or branding exercise. Brands need a strong mix of branded video, user-generated content, live and pre-game content, and cross-platform retargeting strategies to get the most out of what they do. It’s all about striking that balance and delivering content that the end-customer finds interesting.

Troy Paul: Video-led content is super important if you want to drive brand recognition. The savvier operators will use platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and other video platforms to create those communities and establish a solid following. Millennials and Gen-Z have been shown to enjoy this quicker, more engaging form of content so it’s worth tapping into the world of video content.

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When it comes to promoting odds and betting statistics on social media, how can the industry as a whole ensure that player protection remains at the forefront of any social media activity?

Allan Petrilli: The first thing that sportsbooks and casinos need to do is look at how they are targeting their customers and how they are informing their bettors about exclusion lists. The power is there, it just needs to be used properly.

More educational content is also a very important factor when looking to ensure that responsible gambling remains at the forefront of your social strategy. Throwing around $5000 sign up bonuses without ensuring players understand what they are getting into is a potential issue. That doesn’t always need to be in the ad, but brand should at least be introducing better landing pages and terms for players to be aware.

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