FireKeepers Shutters Casino App, Plans Quick Michigan Relaunch
FireKeepers Casino, owned and operated by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Pottawattamie (NHBP), will shut down its current online gaming app and launch an updated version just days later.
Michigan based Firekeepers Online will launch new app. © Ian Hutchinson, Unsplash
Key Facts:
- Michigan online casino revenue in May was $250 million.
- Competition is fierce with 16 online casinos.
- The FireKeepers App has struggled, with only $1.4 million in AGR in May.
- That was already down from $2.2 million in January.
The Michigan online betting market is on fire. Total revenue for online casinos and sportsbooks surpassed $300 million last month, up 25%, and there is no sign of it slowing down soon.
Even the three commercial casinos in Detroit were up, and while the 26 tribal casinos around the state don’t list revenue, it would be a fair assessment to say they are seeing an uptick in business.
However, as is often the case, these gains aren’t seen equally by everyone, and this is especially true in the hyper-competitive online casino market here, where it seems the biggest ones just keep getting bigger.
A little reminder about iGaming in Michigan: each of the 12 Tribes in the state and the three commercial casinos in Detroit were awarded a license back in 2020.
Not surprisingly, MGM Grand chose to partner with BetMGM. Greektown, owned by Penn Gaming, partnered with the Hollywood Casino app and ESPN Bet, which Penn also runs. And Motorcity wisely partnered with FanDuel.
The Tribes then had a choice of partnering with a major brand and getting only a small participation fee in return or attempting to build, brand, and expand their own casino apps.
The Bay Mills tribe partnered with DraftKings, the Little River Band of the Ottawa chose BetRivers, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Casaers teamed up.
Some chose relatively smaller and lesser-known firms, such as the Lac Du Desert Band and Fanatics or the Hannahville Indian Community and Twin Spires, and at least four of the Tribes decided to do it alone.
The Pokagon Band of the Pottawattamie operates Four Winds Online Casino and Sportsbook, while the Saginaw-Chippewa operates the Eagle Casino and Sportsbook. The NHBP chose NYX Gaming as their software provider for FireKeeper Casino, whose brick-and-mortar casino is near Battle Creek, Michigan.
These Tribes all cited the ability to market their already popular land-based casinos through their online sites, the ability to provide much sought-after tech job opportunities for both Tribe members and their other workers, as well as being the final decision-makers as reasons to try doing it on their own.
But of course, they gave up huge advertising budgets, the instant brand name recognition that comes with partnering with DraftKings or FanDuel, and access to the polished apps that these other companies have spent tens of millions of dollars building out.
The Price Of No Partners
What that means, in reality, is that BetMGM generated $67 million in May, while FanDuel/MotorCity generated $65.8 million. In contrast, the best of the non-partnered tribes, the Pokagon, managed only $4.3 million.
The Match-E-Be-Nash-She Wish band of the Pottawatomie at Gun Lake scraped up $3.8 million, and the Saginaw Chippewa brought home $3.4 million.
That leaves the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Pottawattomie odd man out with their paltry $1.4 million. Only the Hannnahville Indian Community and their new partners, 888 Gaming, reported lower figures, with only $645,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue.
This is almost certainly why NHBP will shut down the FireKeepers casino and mobile sports betting app on June 24th for new deposits or withdrawals and then spend the 26th and 27th launching a significant upgrade of their NYX White Label software, featuring new games, an improved search function, and numerous new functionalities.
Whether that will be enough to kick off a comeback will remain to be seen. FireKeepers may need to consider a new partner or at least bring in an outside consulting firm to help them get the online casino and sports betting business back on track.
However, above the all-important 3 million a month mark that almost every other operator in the state manages to surpass month in and month out would also be great.
