US May round-up: Kansas sports betting growth, Detroit casino revenue rises

Taking a look at some of the latest monthly US state results, iGB analyses a year-on-year rise in sports betting revenue in Kansas during May and growth in the land-based casino market in Detroit, Michigan.

Sports betting revenue in Kansas was 10.1% higher at $9.8m (£7.7m/€9.1m) in May. As for Detroit, revenue from land-based casinos increased 7.2% to $113.2m.

Beginning the analysis in Kansas, despite year-on-year growth, revenue was 5.8% lower than the $10.4m generated in April. Some $9.6m of all sports betting revenue came from online activity, with retail contributing $155,888.

In terms of handle, total player spending in May hit $172.2m, an increase of 43.1%. Of this, $164.1m was wagered online and $8.1m at retail sportsbooks across Kansas.

The state collected a total of $976,764 in sports betting tax, most of which also came from online wagering.

FanDuel and Kansas Star lead the pack

FanDuel, partnered with Kansas Star, took the lead in the Kansas online betting market in May. Revenue from this partnership topped $5m from $51.3m in wagers.

DraftKings and partner Boot Hill Casino, which led in April, posted $4.4m in revenue from a $75m handle. Caesars and Kansas Crossing were the only others to post revenue, with this at $213,734 off $7m handle.

As for the retail market, only two partnerships generated revenue. FanDuel and Kansas Star led with $143,640 off $748,252, ahead of DraftKings and Boot Hill on $12,248 off $211,445.

Looking at the year to date, total revenue in the five months to the end of May hit $107.8m. This includes $103.1m in online revenue and $4.7m from retail.

As for handle, this topped $2.22bn in the same period, with $2.13bn bet online and $97.5m from retail locations.

Turning now to Detroit, total market revenue was up from $105.6m last year. The $113.2m posted in May is also 3.5% higher than April’s figure.

This includes $111.3m in revenue from table games and slots, a 6.3% increase on last year. 

The other $1.9m was attributed to sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR), up 80.1% from May 2023. This was despite a 34.3% drop in handle to $11.1m for the month. 

MGM continues to lead in Detroit with 46% market share. MotorCity ranks second with 31%, then Hollywood Casino at Greektown with 23%.

Slots and table games revenue at MGM climbed by 5.3% year-on-year to $51.9m. MotorCity also saw this revenue increase 4.9%, with casino-based revenue at Hollywood Casino up 10.3% to $25.7m.

As for sports betting, MotorCity led the way with QAGR hitting $825,176. MGM was second on $545,028, then Hollywood Casino with $488,548.

In terms of tax, the state of Michigan received $9.0m in gaming taxes from casino activity, while $13.2m went to the city of Detroit in wagering taxes and development agreement payments.

With sports betting, the casinos paid $70,261 in gaming taxes to the state and $85,874 in wagering taxes to the city of Detroit.