Matt Buckley Named President and Approved by MGCB as Key Person of MGM Resorts Midwest Group
At the Michigan Gaming Control Board’s public meeting on April 18th, Matt Buckley President of MGM Resorts Midwest Group, was approved as a new key person of MGM Grand Detroit Casinos. He will oversee both MGM Detroit’s and MGM Northfield Park’s daily operations and strategic direction, while focusing on continuing to improve the guest experience at both properties. Most recently, Buckley served as MGM Northfield Park’s General Manager.
“Matt is a highly strategic, passionate leader with a wealth of operational experience and strong familiarity with both MGM Detroit and Northfield Park and their employees. He has a strong vision and plan to continue to drive growth in the region, while also strengthening our community relationships and overall guest experience,” said Corey Sanders, Chief Operating Officer of MGM Resorts International.
Media Outlets and Sports Leagues Form Sports Betting Advertising Coalition
Seven leading United States sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, MLS, and WNBA) have come together along with Fox Sports and NBCUniversal to form the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising (“Coalition”). The principles of the Coalition largely follow the American Gaming Association’s Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering and focus on avoiding misleading language in advertisements that make wagers appear to be without risk and avoiding glamorizing wagering. Additional guidelines include limiting advertising to programs where the majority of the audience is reasonably expected to be of legal betting age and including a clear, prominent responsible gambling message on all advertisements.
“As the legalization of sports betting spreads nationwide, we feel it is critical to establish guardrails around how sports betting should be advertised to consumers across the United States,” the group said in a joint statement. “Each member of the coalition feels a responsibility to ensure sports betting advertising is not only targeted to an appropriate audience, but also that the message is thoughtfully crafted and carefully delivered.”
Casey Clark, Senior Vice President of the American Gaming Association noted: “We applaud the responsible advertising comments announced today by many of America’s biggest players in sports entertainment. Closely mirroring commitments already made by AGA members through our recently updated Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering, these efforts reflect a shared prioritization of responsible gaming and consumer protection. Building a sustainable legal wagering market requires alignment from the entire sports betting ecosystem and today’s announcement is another important step.”
Michigan Internet Gaming and Sports Betting Operators Report Combined $216.4 Million March Total Gross Receipts
As reported by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (“MGCB”), Michigan commercial and tribal internet casino gaming and sports betting operators reported a combined $216.4 million total gross receipts in March. March receipts increased 26.7% when compared to last month’s results.
March internet gaming gross receipts were $171.8 million, a new record surpassing $153.7 million set in January 2023. Gross sports receipts totaled $44.6 million. In March 2022, internet gaming gross receipts were $131.67 million and gross sports betting receipts were $30.48 million.
Combined total adjusted gross receipts of $186.09 million were reported for March, including $154.65 million from internet gaming and $31.44 million for internet sports betting. Total monthly internet gaming adjusted gross receipts increased 30.4% from March 2022 receipts of $118.58 million, and internet sports betting adjusted gross receipts improved 114.5% from the same time last year.
March 2023 combined adjusted gross receipts were 31.3% higher than the $141.73 million in total adjusted gross receipts from February 2023.
For the first quarter of 2023, internet and adjusted gross receipts total $426.3 million, and internet sports betting adjusted gross receipts were $57.7 million. Michigan operators reported $338.3 million in internet gaming adjusted gross receipts and $29.9 million in internet betting adjusted gross receipts in the first quarter of 2022.
Total internet sports betting handle was $407.7 million and rose 18.2% when compared with February 2023 results of $334.9 million. Total handle was down 9.7% from the $451.6 million handle reported in March 2022.
The operators delivered $33.2 million in taxes and payments to the State of Michigan during March, with internet gaming taxes and fees contributing $31.3 million and internet sports betting taxes and fees contributing $1.9 million.
The three Detroit Casinos – MotorCity Casino, MGM Grand Detroit, and Greektown Casino – reported city wagering taxes and municipal service fees of $9.1 million, with internet gaming taxes and fees contributing $8.2 million and internet sports betting taxes and fees contributing $865,916 for the month of March.
Tribal operators reported making total payments of $3.7 million of wagering payments to the tribes’ governing bodies according to the MGCB.
An online gaming and sports betting revenue distribution table is available on the agency’s website.
During March, a total of 15 operators offered internet gaming and internet sports betting Details for each operator’s internet gaming and internet sports betting results are available and published on the MGCB website.
Tribal Gaming Section Annual Report to the Citizens of Michigan
The Michigan Gaming Control Board (“MGCB”) released the 2022 Tribal Gaming Annual Report to the Citizens of Michigan. The report includes a summary of significant activities, operations and revenue sharing for the period of January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.
Each year, MGCB releases information on the payments tribes make to local units of government. Michigan tribes paid $30.8 million in payments to local government in 2022, slightly down from the $31.5 million in 2021. The full breakdown of each tribe can be found in the Tribal Gaming Annual Report.
“As always, we strive to maintain positive communications with all tribes and encourage voluntary tribal compliance with the Compacts on a government-to-government basis,” said Henry Williams, MGCB’s Executive Director.