Michigan Sets April Sports Betting Handle Record of $426.99 m

DETROIT — Michigan bettors wagered $426.99 million in April 2025, edging past last year’s figure and marking the state’s highest April handle since the online market opened in 2021. The celebration stopped there: the statewide hold slipped to 6.35%, down more than four percentage points from April 2024. That collapse carved gross gaming revenue (GGR) down to $27.09 million (-38% YoY) and trimmed the month’s tax revenue to just $2.28 million.

Why the squeeze? Operators eased off risk-free promotions after March Madness, a run of early-season MLB upsets padded player payouts, and a nine-sportsbook price war kept margins thin. The result was that bettors kept more of their bankrolls while the School Aid Fund, the primary beneficiary of Michigan sports-betting taxes, received roughly $1.4 million less than last April. The remainder of the tax revenue supports local governments and responsible-gambling programs, so softer revenue rippled beyond the classroom.

Michigan’s April Scorecard (2021 – 2025)

YoY change (2024 → 2025): Handle +3% | GGR -38% | Taxes -38%. All data provided by the Michigan Gaming Control Board monthly reports.

To gauge how Michigan’s mature market is performing, it helps to hold it up against a near-twin: North Carolina. Both states have roughly the same population, about 10 million in Michigan and 11 million in North Carolina, and each hosts the “big six” national operators (FanDuel, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Caesars, BetMGM, and Fanatics). The key structural difference lies in market age and tax policy: Michigan is in its fourth full year of mobile betting and charges an 8.4% state tax on adjusted gross revenue (about 9% once Detroit’s 1.25% city surcharge is added), whereas North Carolina’s statewide market launched in March 2024, and applies a far steeper 18% tax on GGR. That higher rate, combined with a newcomer’s promotional buzz, helps explain why North Carolina’s April handle and public-revenue totals outpaced Michigan’s despite similar populations and brand line-ups.

With three fewer apps and a brand-new market buzz, North Carolina produced 35% more handle and almost 3.7 times Michigan’s tax revenue. The Tar Heel State’s stronger hold and higher effective tax cut did the heavy lifting, showing how market maturity and policy design shape public proceeds.

Michigan legalized sports betting in December 2019, opened the first retail windows in March 2020, and flipped the switch on statewide mobile wagering on January 22 2021. Four years later, nine sportsbooks: FanDuel, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Caesars, BetRivers, BetMGM, Golden Nugget, Fanatics, and betPARX, jostle for market share in one of the country’s most competitive line-shopping arenas. Lifetime wagers have surpassed $20 billion, but April’s numbers hint at a maturing market: lower promotional spend, sharper odds, and savvy bettors can quickly turn record handle into lean tax checks.

Regulators remain vigilant, recently issuing cease-and-desist notices to offshore sites still courting Michiganders. Meanwhile, lawmakers debate proposals to redirect a slice of online-gaming revenue toward horse-racing support. Whether those bills advance—and whether operators revive heavier promos for the NFL kickoff—will determine whether April’s revenue dip is a blip or a harbinger of thinner margins ahead.

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