Detroit Casinos Continue to Grow, Michigan iGaming Thrives

Photo by Wikimedia Commons, CC by 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en)
Key Takeaways
- MotorCity Casinos generated nearly half of the city’s casino revenue
- Operators paid $17.1 million in taxes to the city and $8.8 million to the state
- iGaming produced $74.6 million in monthly tax payments
Detroit’s three casinos closed out August by beating their monthly marks from last year, combining to generate $108.9 million in adjusted gross revenue.
MGM Grand Casino led all operators with nearly half of the combined revenue total, while the state gained $8.8 million in wagering taxes.
The casinos also paid $17.1 million in wagering taxes and fees to the city of Detroit, pushing the state capital over $100 million in funding in 2026.
Detroit casinos push ahead
The latest financial figures were confirmed in the Michigan Gaming Control Board’s (MGCB) latest monthly revenue report.
According to their results, MGM Grand Detroit generated $52.9 million in adjusted gross revenue (AGR). That was a $1.2 million (2.3%) year-over-year improvement on the total reported in Aug. 2025.
MotorCity Casino claimed the silver medal for the state’s market. Its $33.8 million in AGR was well behind first-place MGM, but its $2.6 million (8.3%) growth since this time last year led all retail facilities.
Greektown Casino reported $22.2 million in AGR, making it the only location to report a year-over-year decrease. Its total was $583,096.55 was 2.6% lower than its Aug. 2025 total.
The overall casino market grew $3.2 million from last August’s $105.7 million sum, representing a 3% improvement. That translated to an extra $258,060.57 in monthly tax payments to the state than were paid last August, and $4.5 million (35.4%) more in city taxes and fees.
iGaming dominates in Michigan
Detroit’s casino growth helped it keep pace with the soaring Michigan online casino market.
As is customary, the MGCB also released iGaming and sports betting reports alongside its retail casino figures. Those reports revealed that online casinos barely grew from the previous month (0.1%), but were up 17.6% on the Aug. 2025 total. That was based on $290.8 million in AGR from $303 million in gross gaming receipts.
iGaming contributed a huge chunk of the final gaming tax payments — specifically, $61.2 million to the state and $13.4 million to Detroit. The state is now well over $3 billion in total iGaming tax payments since the market opened for business in Jan. 2021.
Online sports betting was dominated by the usual leader, FanDuel — a MotorCity Casino partner. DraftKings and Greektown casino were third, followed by BetMGM and MGM Grand Casino. That means that the top three operators were all affiliated with Detroit’s three land-based casinos.
Michigan’s highest gaming months came in March 2026 and Dec. 2025. That suggests that it could take a few months for the state to be at an appropriate time of the year to establish a new record, judging by the seasons of the past records.
Grant is an industry news expert who covers legislative news, financial updates, and general industry trends. As a veteran of the gambling industry, Grant has experience in the world of casinos, sports betting, and iGaming. As a former long-distance runner, he knows a thing or two about persistence and consistently holding himself to a high standard.
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