Michigan Casino Gross Receipts Breaks $200 Million for September as Industry Continues to Boom

The revenue accrued by Michigan’s casinos and sportsbooks for September amounted to a massive $210.4 million in gross receipts, which represents a massive 20% increase on August’s revenue numbers and continues to show the ongoing success of the industry in the state.

The vast majority of that revenue comes from casino activity, including those from the best online slots, with $166.4 million coming from this avenue and $44 million from sports betting, and those figures represent the second-best month this year in the state.

In other news, in the state, Detroit casino workers are still on strike and have now pushed for a boycott of online services offered by FanDuel, ESPN BET, BetMGM, and Hollywood Icasino.

Workers have been on strike for over a month following the expiration of contracts with three casinos. Nia Winston, who is the President of UNITE HERE Local 24, stated of the strike;

“Online sports betting and online casino platforms like FanDuel, ESPN BET, and BetMGM are critical sources of revenue for the companies that operate Detroit’s three casinos,”

“Workers have been outside the physical locations 24/7 since going out on strike three weeks ago to win a fair contract. Now, they’re calling on the public not to cross their virtual picket line either and to boycott these apps until the strike is settled.”

Casino workers at the MGM Grand, MotorCity, and Hollywood have downed tools after an agreement on new contracts was not reached. They had been looking for an increase in wages, protections against new technology that would impinge on their jobs, as well as improved retirement benefits.

3700 workers are affected, and though negotiations started in September, agreements between the two parties have not been achieved.

“Workers are fed up in an economy that is broken: costs keep going up, but when profits came back to the gaming industry, they didn’t go into workers’ pockets. Just like auto workers, Blue Cross Blue Shield staff, UPS workers, writers, and hotel workers, Detroit casino workers are considering all options available to make sure one job in a Detroit casino is enough to raise a family on. We expect the casinos to heed our concerns to avoid a strike,” Nia Winston added.

Hollywood Casino responded to the strike by issuing an official statement;

“We are disappointed by the decision of the Detroit Casino Council as we have made generous, progressive settlement offers that position our team members and business for sustainable success. We will remain open for business to serve our customers and are committed to continued good-faith bargaining with the Detroit Casino Council to resolve the issues at hand as soon as possible.”

The DCC (Detroit Casino Council) has now moved to push for a boycott of online casinos in a bid to get an agreement reached between the casinos and their members.

The ongoing strike action comes as Penn Entertainment prepares to launch its ESPN BET rebranded sports app, which is perhaps not the ideal timing for such activity.