from Ryan Zuke of Mlive,

Michigan’s online sports betting launch in January came close to a national record, despite going live with just 10 days remaining in the month.

Per data released by the Michigan Gaming Control Board on Wednesday, operators reported an online sports betting handle of $115.2 million for January, which ranks second behind Tennessee, which set an opening-month record of just over $131 million in November 2020. However, Tennessee also launched on the first of the month.

Unlike Tennessee, Michigan also launched online casino gaming on Jan. 22. Internet gaming generated $29.4 million in revenue for the state, while online sports betting was responsible for $13.3 million in revenue for a total of $42.7 million. Overall, operators paid about $4.4 million in taxes to the state in January, according to the MGCB....

Ten sports betting operators and eight online casinos launched Jan. 22. FoxBet sports betting and Stars Casino/PokerStars received MGCB approval on Jan. 29. Barstool was among the initial 10 operators to launch sports betting Jan. 22, but did not receive MGCB authorization for its casino until Feb. 1.

FanDuel reported the highest January sports betting handle at $32.6 million, followed by DraftKings (28.2 million), Barstool ($27.5 million) and BetMGM ($22.8 million). None of the other six operators reported a handle greater than $2 million.

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