Caesars announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement to acquire WynnBET’s online casino gaming operations in Michigan, giving it an opportunity to expand its digital reach in the Wolverine State.

Caesars already has an internet gaming presence in Michigan through the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, with its digital skin tethered to the Leelenau Sands and Turtle Creek casinos. In acquiring WynnBET‘s license, Caesars will also be associated with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, who own and operate Kewadin Casinos in the Upper Peninsula.

“As we continue to grow our iGaming franchise, the assumption of WynnBET’s iGaming operations in Michigan allows us to tap into a significant market and customer base, providing a crucial step forward in growing our digital products and offering players more ways to play,” said Matt Sunderland, senior vice president and chief iGaming officer for Caesars Entertainment in a joint statement with the Sault Tribe. “We are honored to work with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and look forward to growing with them in Michigan.”

The announcement came hours after the Michigan Gaming Control Board reported a record $181.9 million in gross internet casino revenue for January. That was an 18.3% improvement from the first month of 2023 and narrowly bettering December’s revenue record by less than $474,000.

The state was eligible to levy taxes on $164.2 million in adjusted gross revenue, resulting in an inflow of $30 million into state coffers as the progressive tax rates reset to 20% with the start of the year. The city of Detroit received $7.9 million in tax receipts while tribal disbursements totaled $3.6 million for local jurisdictions where casinos are tethered to online skins.

WynnBET’s retreat from digital landscape

Tuesday’s announcement continued Wynn Enterprises’ departure from the online casino gaming and sports betting spaces in the United States. That began in earnest last August with shutting down its sports betting platform across multiple states and regained momentum earlier this month with its scheduled Friday exit from the Massachusetts sports betting landscape, where it has a brick-and-mortar casino, and its decision last week to sell its New York mobile sports betting license to PENN Entertainment.

In the release, Caesars expects to fully transition WynnBET’s operations later this year into its portfolio and has committed to a “seamless transition and premium customer experience for current WynnBET iGaming customers.” WynnBET had been a consistent performer in the internet casino space in Michigan until recently, generating $156.9 million in gross revenue since launch in January 2021. It totaled $52 million in winnings in 2023, down 3.3% from 2022, and its January total of $3.3 million was a 27% year-over-year decline.

“It was paramount that our next partner in iGaming possessed both expertise in the U.S. iGaming market and a history of strong partnerships in Indian country. We believe we found that with Caesars and look forward to being part of their new iCasino offering,” said Austin Lowes, chairman of Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

“The database is different from ours, but in terms of the customers, it’s very similar in terms of what we’re trying to accomplish with the apps that we’re launching,” said Eric Hession, President of Caesars Sports and Online Gaming, during Tuesday’s fourth-quarter conference call with investors. “So it’s a slot-centric customer at a slightly higher end and then from a table perspective, it’s also on a slightly higher end from what we normally have in our database.”

That could augur well for Caesars, which is coming off its best month in terms of revenue in Michigan after generating $9.2 million in January gross winnings. It reported $78.7 million in revenue in 2023, up 32.1% from 2022 as it outpaced the statewide year-over-year growth of 21.6% to $1.92 billion.

Tribal revenue figures elsewhere

Caesars was one of three internet casino platforms — all on the tribal side — to post all-time monthly highs in January. Soaring Eagle, which has its own brand run by GAN, reached $3.3 million for its third consecutive all-time best. Firekeepers Casino, operated by NYX and also its own brand, topped $2 million for the first time in history.

DraftKings led all tribal-tethered platforms in revenue with $36.3 million, its third-best month overall and up 38.3% against the first month of 2023 as gross revenue was more than $10 million higher. It was the third straight month DraftKings, connected to Bay Mills, surpassed $30 million and fourth time overall — all coming in the last five months.

BetRivers narrowly missed a record haul for the fourth straight month, coming $7,000 short as it again finished just shy of $11.5 million for the second consecutive month. Tethered to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, BetRivers has reached eight figures in gross revenue for four months running and five of the last six.

Tribal gross revenue reached an all-time monthly best of $85.5 million — up 26.2% from January 2023 — as the revenue gap between the tribes and Detroit’s three casinos was $10.8 million. That was down just over 40% compared to 12 months prior when the Motown trio put $18.1 million worth of separation between the two groups.

BetMGM paces Detroit casinos

Internet casino revenue from Detroit’s three platforms was up 12.1% compared to January 2023, as the $96.3 million was also within $56,000 of December’s all-time high. Both BetMGM and FanDuel opened 2024 with $40 million-plus in revenue, but BetMGM’s state-leading $48.3 million was down 8.5% versus the $52.8 million claimed in 2023.

Conversely, FanDuel was up 48.3% to $42.9 million — its third-best total overall as the tether to MotorCity Casino extended its run of $40 million months to three. PENN Entertainment, operating via Greektown, posted a year-over-year gain of 23.2% to $5.1 million, but that was also 20.9% off its record winnings of $6.4 million to close out 2023.

Matt Rybaltowski contributed to this report

Photo: Getty Images