Northville Downs Submits Plans for New Horse Racing Facility in Plymouth Township

This week representatives from Northville Downs submitted a proposal to build a new operation in northeast Plymouth township.

The new project, Northville Downs at Plymouth Township, is proposed on part of a 128-acre parcel near the southwest corner of Five Mile and Ridge roads.

According to the submitted plans, if approved by Plymouth Township the complex would include:

Half-mile oval harness racetrack
Two story, 4,900 sq ft grandstand with large patio
23,000 sq ft racing building
35,000 sq ft horse barn
3,200 sq ft maintenance building

The project Northville Downs at Plymouth Township could come before the Plymouth Township Planning Commission as soon as February. If the project is approved by the planning commission, the next step will be a hearing before the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees for consideration.

Kurt Heise, Plymouth Township Supervisor said the project was unique and interesting. “We’re flattered that Northville Downs would consider us as the site of their new operation. We know horseracing is a lot different in Michigan than it was 100 years ago, and the proposal they’re putting forward is for a much more efficient operation than what they currently have, because the business model has changed. It’s a very environmentally responsible site with as much clean energy and green technology as possible, which is a big leap over what we see right now in Northville.”

Detroit Casinos Report $1.276 Billion in Aggregate Revenue During 2022

According to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (“MGCB”) the three Detroit casinos reported $1.276 billion yearly revenue in 2022. Slots generated 77% of revenue at $983.7 million, table games provided 21% of revenue at $273.3 million and retail sports betting added 2% of revenue at $18.8 million. By comparison, the casinos produced $1.294 billion in aggregate revenue in 2021.

The 2022 market shares were:

MGM Grand Detroit, 48%
MotorCity Casino, 31%
Hollywood Casino at Greektown, 21%

Table Games and Slot Revenue and Taxes – 2022

Year-over-year gaming revenue for slots and table games declined a fractional 0.8% to $1.26 billion.

The breakdown by casino was:

MGM Grand Detroit, $600 million, rose 8.3%
MotorCity Casino, $396.5 million, down 9.3%
Hollywood Casino at Greektown, $260.5 million, down 5.1%

During 2022, the three Detroit casinos paid $101.8 million in wagering taxes on slots and table games revenue to the State of Michigan. The casinos also reported making $155.6 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments on slots and table games revenue to the City of Detroit.

Retail Sports Betting and Taxes – 2022

The three casinos reported aggregate retail sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts of $18.81 million, down 30.2% from the $26.95 million reported in 2021. Qualified adjusted gross receipts (“QAGR”) are gross sports betting receipts minus the monetary value of free play incentives provided to and wagered by bettors.

The breakdown by casino was:

MGM Grand Detroit, $6.21 million
MotorCity Casino, $5.55 million
Hollywood Casino at Greektown, $7.05 million

The three Detroit casinos in 2022 paid $711,087 in taxes for retail sports betting to the State of Michigan and $869,107 in retail sports betting taxes to the City of Detroit.

December 2022 Results

The three casinos reported $109.9 million in monthly aggregate revenue in December compared with $112.5 million recorded in December 2021. Table games and slots generated $108.3 million in revenue while retail sports betting produced $1.6 million in revenue.

December 2022 table games and slots revenue declined 2.8% from revenue produced in December 2021. December revenue for table games and slots was up 8.4% compared with $99.9 million reported in November.

December revenue fell 0.8% to $51 million for MGM compared with December 2021 results. MotorCity’s December revenue dropped 5.7% to $33 million, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown monthly revenue declined 2.9% to $24.3 million compared with December 2021 results.

During December, the three Detroit casinos paid $8.8 million in wagering taxes to the State of Michigan compared with $9 million paid in December 2021. The three Detroit casinos reported making $13.4 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the City of Detroit in December.

Retail Sports Betting Revenue and Taxes – December

Retail sports betting QAGR for December rose 48% in December compared with December 2021 results of $1.1 million.

The breakdown by casino was:

MGM Grand Detroit, $723,474
MotorCity Casino, $548,710
Hollywood Casino at Greektown, $364,788

Total handle was $16,082,392, and total gross receipts were $1,650,550. In December 2021, total handle was $30,071,942, and total gross receipts were $1,155,678.

The three Detroit casinos reported submitting taxes on retail sports betting in the amounts of $61,878 to the State of Michigan and $75,628 to the City of Detroit during for December 2022.

Fourth Quarter Table Games and Slot Revenue and Taxes

The three Detroit casinos’ fourth quarter aggregate revenue was down 5.4% compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. Quarterly gaming revenue for MGM Grand Detroit was down 5.4% to $144.1 million, and MotorCity Casino saw a 9.1% decline to $95.4 million. Hollywood Casino at Greektown reported a fractional 0.02% increase to $69.4 million.

For the quarter ended December 2022, the three Detroit casinos paid $25 million in gaming taxes to the state compared with $26.5 million for the same period last year.

Fantasy Contests

Fantasy contest operators reported total adjusted revenues of $2.2 million and paid taxes of $188,286 during November 2022.

Fantasy contest operators reported aggregated total adjusted revenues of $15.3 million and paid taxes of $1.3 million to the state through November 30, 2022.

School Aid Fund Contributions

In calendar year 2022, casino wagering taxes contributed $101,814,954 to the state School Aid Fund, and the fund received $711,087 from retail sports betting taxes.

AGA 2022 Commercial Gaming Revenue Report

According to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) report, through the first eleven months of 2022, nearly all commercial gaming states were tracking revenue ahead of the same period in 2021. In November, U.S. commercial gaming revenue grew by 2.4 percent year-over-year, the 21st successive month of comparative growth. According to revenue data reported by state regulators and compiled by the AGA, the nationwide gaming industry win from traditional casino games, sports betting and iGaming reached $5.02 billion in November.

Trailing 12-month (TTM) revenue was $59.58 billion for the period covering December 2021 through November 2022. Sequentially, TTM revenue inched up 0.2 percent compared to the preceding TTM period stretching from November 2021 to October 2022.

November sports betting activity benefited from a busy sports calendar and Maryland becoming the 23rd jurisdiction to offer mobile sports betting, resulting in a 27.0 percent increase in betting activity nationwide. Americans wagered $9.40 billion on sports throughout the month, which was an all time high. Legal commercial sports betting was available across 27 commercial sports betting jurisdictions in November, compared with 25 a year earlier. 2022 commercial sports betting revenue reached $6.56 billion, tracking 65.4 percent ahead of the same period last year with customers having wagered $83.13 billion through the end of November.

iGaming operations in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia reported record revenue of $458.4 million, up 33.0 percent from the same month in 2021. 2022 iGaming revenue stands at $4.54 billion, tracking 36.3 percent ahead of the same period in 2021.

The American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker features state-by-state and nationwide financial performance data with breakdowns for individual gaming verticals. The full report can be found here.

PokerStars Hosts Tournament for Combined Player Pools in Michigan and New Jersey

PokerStars is currently hosting a multistate online poker tournament for players in Michigan and New Jersey. This tournament began January 13 and will run thru January 30. A combined player pool typically means larger prize pools than what would be available if players only completed against opponents in their home state.

The return of online poker tournaments in the United States through Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreements (“MSIGA”) gives PokerStars and other approved operators in the approved jurisdictions an opportunity to offer bigger and better tournaments for its players as online poker expands in the United States.

In May of 2022, Michigan Gaming Control Board (“MGCB”) signed a MSIGA, in which Michigan players can compete against other players in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey. Delaware and Nevada were the initial participants, with New Jersey joining before Michigan became a signatory in May of 2022.