Detroit Casino Revenue: MGM Leads Despite a Negative Retail Sports Result
MGM led Detroit's September casino market even though its retail sportsbook reported a negative result. The apparent contradiction disappears when the categories are separated: MGM reported $48.84 million from table games and slots, alongside negative $48,265 in retail sports qualified adjusted gross receipts.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board's October 13 release puts total aggregate revenue for the city's three commercial casinos at $103.55 million. Table games and slots supplied $102.78 million of that total; retail sports QAGR was $769,771.
A negative sportsbook line is not an overall casino loss
The regulator gives MGM a 47% market share, followed by MotorCity at 32% and Hollywood Casino at Greektown at 21%. Within table games and slots, MGM's revenue grew 6.5% from September 2025. MotorCity grew 12.7% to $32.6 million, while Greektown fell 8.8% to $21.34 million.
For retail sports QAGR, MotorCity reported $602,755 and Greektown $215,281, offset in part by MGM's negative figure. These results can coexist because a sportsbook line describes a much narrower activity than the venue's table games and slots. It would be wrong to turn MGM's negative retail figure into a claim that its whole Detroit casino lost money.
The comparison period changes the direction
September table-game and slot revenue rose 4.7% year over year but fell 5.6% from August. Both statements are true: they use different starting months. For January through September, the same category was up 2.3% against the prior year.
Retail sports QAGR also moved in different directions, rising 3.0% from September 2025 while dropping 10.9% from August 2026. A headline about growth should therefore state the period and category, rather than imply every part of the market moved together.
Handle adds another measurement. The casinos took $12.39 million in retail sports wagers, while gross receipts were $784,762 and QAGR was $769,771. The amount wagered is not the amount retained as revenue. The two receipts measures should also keep their separate labels.
Keep the report's boundaries intact
These are Detroit's three commercial casinos and their retail sports activity. They do not represent all Michigan online gaming or every gambling venue in the state. The release's fantasy-contest figures concern August, another reason to keep the reporting month beside each number.
Our BetMGM Q3 report covers a different business scope and a quarterly period. Comparing it with this local monthly report can add context, but adding their figures together would not produce a meaningful measure of Detroit's September market.