Despite the glitz and lights of the casino floors, Detroit's gambling stalwarts had mixed results in April 2025. According to a report from the Michigan Gaming Control Board, the three major casinos in the city pulled in a collective revenue of $109.8 million. Breaking it down, MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown saw most of their revenue coming from table games and slots, with a minor portion trickling in from retail sports betting.
The revenue split among the casinos for April underscored the continued dominance of MGM Grand Detroit with 47% of the market share. Not lagging far behind, MotorCity Casino captured 30%, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown secured 23%. The figures seem all the more relevant when considering the month's performance against the revenue highs and lows of the past year. It's noted that the total revenue for table games and slots did experience a 6.3% dip from March 2025, despite a moderate 1.5% yearly increase.
Diving deeper into the revenue pool, MGM Grand Detroit saw an uptick of 2.5%, totaling $51.1 million, which, despite everything, signals a small but positive growth. Conversely, Hollywood Casino at Greektown faced a slight downturn of 0.2%, with its earnings rounding out at $25.3 million. Bringing up the rear with a modest bump, MotorCity Casino's revenues increased by 1.2%, chalking up $33.1 million in the same period. As for gaming taxes, the casinos did their part by contributing $8.9 million to the state and another $13.0 million to the City of Detroit in taxes and development agreement payments in April.
Flipping the coin to sports betting does reveal less encouraging news. The report detailed that retail sports betting was not as gleaming as table games and slots, with a rather stark 79.8% plunge in QAGR compared to the previous year and a 44.6% decline from March 2025. MGM Grand Detroit's numbers were in the red with negative ($219,857), while MotorCity and Greektown casinos managed positive gains, albeit much lower than might have been anticipated. On this front, a modest sum of tax contributions followed, with $20,276 going to the state and approximately $24,781 to Detroit's coffers.
Another facet of wagering, the fantasy contests, showed a glimmer in the previous month. For March 2025, fantasy contest operators turned a profit of $634,191, duly paying their share of $53,272 in taxes. Consequently, with these mixed results, Detroit's betting and gaming landscape continues to be an evolving tableau of economic highs and lows, tested by fluctuating market interests and consumer habits.
