888 Holdings is finally joining the Michigan gambling market. 888 received approval from the Michigan Gaming Control Board after the casino operator entered into a strategic agreement with 888 Holdings.
Earlier this year in August, TwinSpires announced that it would stop its sportsbook and online casino operations in Michigan starting from September 2022. The operator had already announced in 2021 that it would cease operating in the area owing to its inability to retain a good market share.
TwinSpires informed its customers via email that it would be shutting down its online casino and sportsbooks, which gave its customers ample time to prepare themselves and transfer their funds. Before it announced that it would be shutting its doors, TwinSpires had struggled to attract customers in the highly competitive sports betting market.
For a long time, the brand was ranked in 10th place among the 15 sports betting operators in Michigan. After its announcement in February 2021, the brand consistently came in last as the lowest revenue producer. Twinspires online casinos were also facing challenging times and were ranked 13th among its competitors.
Twinspire’s departure from Michigan created an open slot for one operator to join the Wolverine State. For a while, Island Resort & Casinos had been looking for the right online sports betting partner to replace TwinSpires. There were speculations floating around that Island Resort & Casinos would partner with SI Sportsbook.
However, SI Sportsbook officially replaced TwinSpires in the state not too long ago, thus ending all conjectures. The Michigan Gaming Control Board approved 888 Holdings as the newest online betting platform provider on August 29th. Operated by the Hannahville Indian Community, sports Illustrated received approval to operate as an online sportsbook only.
In the coming months, 888 holdings are expected to seek approval for additional licenses but it is not clear when this will happen. The Hannahville Indian Community was among the 10 licensees that were originally permitted by the Gaming Commission to offer both forms of iGaming in Michigan on January 2021.
888, which is one of the biggest gaming giants in the UK recently launched its operations in the newly legalized Ontario betting market. 888 was among the first 13 operators to debut operations in Ontario this April. At the launch, 888 and BetMGM were the only 2 operators allowed to offer their products in Ontario.
As such, the 2 brands were forced to compete head-to-head early on. This year, 888 plans to expand its operations in Canada, the Netherlands, as well as at least 4 US states. By the end of next year, the brand hopes to have a presence in at least 15 states.
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Online gaming in Michigan continues to grow
Michigan punters have been enjoying iGaming since it was officially approved in January 2021. Less than 2 years after approval, internet casino websites remain the number one choice for punters. According to reports from the Michigan Gaming Control Board, iGaming operators in the state managed to generate approximately $130.9 million from online bettors this August.
The $130.9 million produced represents an increase of 3.4% from July and an improvement of 34% compared to August last year. Mobile oddsmakers piled on an additional $24 million to bring August’s total online betting revenue to $154.9 million. August revenue was an improvement of 4.5% compared to July when the gross iGaming and online sports wagering income reached $148.2 million.
August revenue was an improvement of 37% compared to August 2021, when sportsbooks in the state managed to generate $113.1 million. Online casinos that are tethered to the 3 Detroit casinos produced about $72.5 million of the $130.9 million online casino profits. The 3 commercial casinos in Detroit, namely MotorCity, Hollywood Casino at Greektown, and MGM Grand Detroit managed to generate approximately $13.9 million of online sports revenue.
In total, the state’s 15 operators that are permitted to offer both forms of online betting, submitted approximately $25.3 million in taxes. Detroit’s 3 casinos paid $6.7 million worth of betting taxes and municipal services fees for iGaming in August 2022. The tribal operators, on the other hand, reported $2.9 million in tax payments that were made to the state’s governing bodies.
Thus August, the retail sports betting taxes paid to the state totaled $62,856, which was a slight improvement compared to the $62,371 that was produced in August 2021. The brick-and-mortar casinos in the state produced $76,824 in betting taxes and development agreement payments to the city.
In July, fantasy contests also recorded impressive revenues. Fantasy content managed to generate combined adjusted revenues of $1.1 million and taxes worth $93,849. For the first 7 months of 2022, the fantasy contest operators in the state have produced $8.5 million in revenues, which has resulted in total taxes worth $716,540.
Michigan was one of the only casinos that opted to legalize online betting amid the challenging pandemic. The importance of a legalized online gaming market has proven to be extremely beneficial to the state, which remains one of the highest gambling revenue earners in the entire country.
At present, iGaming is only available in 6 states. These states include Delaware, Connecticut, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and of course, Michigan. In May this year, Michigan also made strides in its online gambling market when it joined the multi-state poker pact.
Michigan was the fourth state to join the pact, which already has Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada as member states. As a result, poker players in the 4 states will now start experiencing shared traffic, which will result in more cash games and higher rewards.
Before the state can start taking full advantage of the shared liquidity, the state must first sign the agreement. Additionally, all the operators currently licensed to operate in Michigan must also be approved by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Final Thoughts
Indeed, Michigan is one of the highest revenue generators in the North American gambling market. As time progresses, more and more operators will continue looking for partnerships and ways to join the lucrative market. This will not only make the market more competitive but it will also give punters in the state more variety than ever.
