KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Short Answer
Michigan is one of the largest regulated online gambling markets in the United States, and its revenue comes overwhelmingly from online casino games rather than sports betting. In calendar 2025, commercial and tribal operators reported $3.09 billion of iGaming gross receipts and $671.3 million of online sports betting gross receipts, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). After the deductions the law allows, adjusted gross receipts (AGR) were about $3.34 billion, up 39.5% from 2024.
This analysis uses the MGCB’s January 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 revenue releases, its 2025 annual report and the Michigan statutes. It reads the 2025 totals, then compares them with September 2026, the latest month reported as of October 2026. The pattern is consistent: iGaming is the large, steadier engine, sports betting is smaller but growing faster, and the state collects far more from iGaming because it taxes iGaming at higher rates. All figures are as reported by operators to the regulator, and nothing here is investment advice.
How Michigan’s Online Market Is Structured
Michigan authorized online casino games and online sports betting through two 2019 laws, the Lawful Internet Gaming Act (Public Act 152) and the Lawful Sports Betting Act (Public Act 149). The MGCB announced that online gaming and sports betting would begin on January 22, 2021. At the end of 2025, 15 operators were authorized, 12 tribal and three commercial, according to the MGCB annual report. In September 2026 the MGCB said all 15 offered iGaming and 13 offered online sports betting.
Two measures matter when reading the reports. Gross receipts are, broadly, amounts wagered less winnings and certain returns. Adjusted gross receipts are gross receipts after a deduction for free play wagered by customers. For iGaming, the statute caps that deduction at 10% of gross receipts in the first three years of an operator’s activity, 6% in year four, 4% in year five and nothing from year six. For sports betting, the statute defines AGR as gross receipts less the monetary value of free play wagered. Our explainer on GGR vs NGR covers the general idea.
The tax rules differ sharply. Under section 14 of Act 152, a commercial iGaming operator pays a graduated tax on annual AGR, from 20% below $4 million to 28% at $12 million or more. Under section 14 of Act 149, a commercial sports betting operator pays 8.4% of AGR. Tribal operators make payments required under the acts instead, and the three Detroit casinos also pay wagering taxes and municipal service fees to the City of Detroit. The structure explains why one vertical dominates state revenue.
The Numbers: Calendar 2025
The MGCB reported combined gross receipts of $3.8 billion for 2025, made up of $3.09 billion from iGaming and $671.3 million from online sports betting, a 29.5% increase over 2024. Online sports betting handle, the total amount wagered, was $5.4 billion. Adjusted figures were $2.90 billion for iGaming and $435.9 million for sports betting, a combined increase of 39.5%.
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| iGaming AGR | $2,198.4 million | $2,901.3 million | +32.0% |
| Online sports betting AGR | $194.4 million | $435.9 million | +124.3% |
| Combined AGR | $2,392.7 million | $3,337.2 million | +39.5% |
| iGaming share of AGR | 91.9% | 86.9% | −4.9 points |
The growth rates come from the dollar figures in the annual report. iGaming AGR rose from $2,198,379,380 to $2,901,265,126, an increase of 32.0%. Sports betting AGR rose from $194,363,578 to $435,896,332, an increase of 124.3%. The faster growth in sports betting reflects a smaller starting base, and the combined AGR rose 39.5%, matching the MGCB’s figure.
Operators paid $624.6 million in taxes and payments to the state in 2025, of which $597.5 million came from iGaming and $27.1 million from sports betting. The three Detroit casinos paid the city $161.4 million in wagering taxes and municipal services fees, and tribal operators made $71.9 million in payments to governing bodies. Dividing state payments by AGR gives rough ratios of 20.6% for iGaming and 6.2% for sports betting. They are derived, not statutory rates: the payments combine commercial and tribal operators under different rules and exclude the city’s share.
What the Mix and the Taxes Mean
For operators, the revenue mix says where the profit pool sits. About 87% of 2025 AGR was iGaming, so online casino economics, not sportsbook promotions, set the market’s scale. A sportsbook’s economics rely on hold, which is gross receipts divided by handle. Using the rounded $5.4 billion sports betting handle, 2025 gross hold was about 12.4% and AGR as a share of handle about 8.1%, a difference that reflects the free-play deduction. Readers who want that concept in detail can see how sportsbooks make money.
For the state, the mix is more lopsided still. Sports betting produced 13% of AGR but only about 4% of state taxes and payments, because $27.1 million is 4.3% of $624.6 million. iGaming, taxed from 20% to 28% for commercial operators, produced about 96%. In Michigan, iGaming therefore generated far more public revenue per dollar of gross receipts than sports betting did. For a state view centered on sports betting alone, see New York sports betting revenue.
The analysis stops short of predicting where the market goes next. What the reports show is a market in which both verticals grew in 2025, the larger vertical grew by about a third, and the smaller one more than doubled. Whether those rates persist is a question for future reports, not for inference from one year. A related analysis of how tax increases work through sportsbook margins is in our piece on sports betting tax hikes.
September 2026 Against 2025
The MGCB reported $355.7 million of combined gross receipts in September 2026, up 5.4% from August 2026, and $313.04 million of AGR. Compared with August, iGaming AGR fell 0.9% and sports betting AGR rose 2.9%. Compared with September 2025, iGaming AGR was up 18.4% and sports betting AGR was up 88.2%.
| Measure | iGaming | Online sports betting | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross receipts | $300.2 million | $55.5 million | $355.7 million |
| Adjusted gross receipts | $288.15 million | $24.89 million | $313.04 million |
| Change in AGR vs September 2025 | +18.4% | +88.2% | n/a in release |
| Handle | n/a | $544.8 million | n/a |
| State taxes and fees | $60.6 million | $1.8 million | $62.4 million |
Three derived readings follow. First, sports betting handle jumped 64.9% from August to $544.8 million, yet gross receipts were $55.5 million, a gross hold of 10.2%, while AGR of $24.89 million is 4.6% of handle. The gap between gross receipts and AGR was $30.61 million, which by statutory definition is the free-play deduction. Second, in iGaming the gap was $12.05 million, 4.0% of gross receipts. Third, sports betting was 8.0% of combined AGR in September 2026; the stated growth rates imply it was roughly 5.2% a year earlier.
Compared with the 2025 average of 13.1%, September’s 8.0% sports betting share is lower, but sports betting results swing with the sports calendar and with promotional spending, so one month is not a trend. For another state’s regulator data, see Pennsylvania gaming revenue.
Limits and Misreadings
These figures are operator-reported results published by the regulator, rounded as the MGCB rounds them. AGR is not profit: it is revenue after one statutory deduction and before marketing, product, payments, staff and taxes. Comparing it with another state’s figures requires checking how that state defines its base.
The 2025 handle is given only as $5.4 billion, so the hold ratios above are approximate. The tax ratios divide state payments by AGR and are not statutory rates; tribal payments, the City of Detroit’s share and the timing of monthly payments all affect them. The implied September 2025 figures come from rounded growth rates and are estimates.
The reports cover the market as a whole. They do not show operator-level profit, and this analysis does not rank operators. Year-over-year changes can reflect new operators, new products, promotional intensity and calendar effects, and the MGCB does not attribute the changes to any cause. Figures are as of October 2026, and later regulator revisions would supersede them.
Key Figures and Definitions
The table lists the main reported figures. Handle is the amount wagered; gross receipts are wagers less winnings and certain returns; AGR is gross receipts less free play wagered, as the statutes define it.
| Item | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 iGaming gross receipts | $3.09 billion | Calendar 2025 |
| 2025 sports betting gross receipts | $671.3 million | Calendar 2025 |
| 2025 combined AGR | $3,337.2 million (+39.5%) | Calendar 2025 |
| 2025 handle | $5.4 billion | Calendar 2025 |
| 2025 state taxes and payments | $624.6 million | Calendar 2025 |
| September 2026 combined AGR | $313.04 million | September 2026 |
| September 2026 sports handle | $544.8 million | September 2026 |
Related Analysis
To compare Michigan with another large regulated market, read Pennsylvania gaming revenue. For the vocabulary behind AGR and gross revenue, see GGR vs NGR, and for how states’ tax choices reach operators’ margins, see sports betting tax hikes. The next question to watch is how the MGCB’s monthly reports for the rest of 2026 compare with the 2025 totals above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
- Michigan Gaming Control Board — September 2026 iGaming and online sports betting revenue release, October 22, 2026
- Michigan Gaming Control Board — December 2025 revenue release and 2025 annual totals, January 21, 2026
- Michigan Gaming Control Board — 2025 Annual Report
- Michigan Legislature — MCL 432.314, graduated tax on internet gaming (Act 152 of 2019)
- Michigan Legislature — MCL 432.414, sports betting tax (Act 149 of 2019)
- Michigan Gaming Control Board — Lawful Sports Betting Act, definitions (MCL 432.403)
- Michigan Legislature — Act 152 of 2019, Lawful Internet Gaming Act, definitions
- Michigan Gaming Control Board — Online gaming and sports betting to begin January 22, January 19, 2021
