Caesars Entertainment’s Horseshoe Online Casino is now taking bets in the Michigan market after replacing WynnBET in the state.
Caesars completed the acquisition of Wynn‘s Michigan online gaming license in June and signed an extension to Wynn’s previous partnership with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. It will be affiliated with the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel in the state.
The launch means the operator now has two separate and distinct online gaming brands operating in the Wolverine State, with Horseshoe joining its flagship Caesars Palace platform. Michigan law allows operators to run a maximum of two online casino brands. DraftKings is the only other company with multiple skins in the game, with its primary platform and its Golden Nugget Online Gaming subsidiary.
Caesars now has another revenue stream in the Michigan online casino market. Through the first eight months of the year, it ranks fifth for market share in the state’s iGaming market, more than half of which is held down by BetMGM and FanDuel. Across all markets, Caesars’ online casino handle eclipsed $7 billion in the first half of 2024, up 38.8% year over year.
Horseshoe’s takeover from WynnBET means that Michigan remains maxed out on its iGaming operator allowance of 15 brands. WynnBET had taken $175.1 million in lifetime revenue in Michigan since launching in the state in 2021, ranking eighth of 15.
Horseshoe Casino will debut in Michigan, expand state-by-state
Caesars had announced on an earnings call in July that Horseshoe’s online business would debut in Michigan this fall, with a target of September. The brand had previously been retail-only.
Caesars Digital President Eric Hession said at that time that while Horseshoe Online Casino will continue to roll out state by state after its Michigan launch, the company does not expect it to compete with the flagship Caesars online casino brand.
“We’re launching it slightly differently than we did with Caesars Palace, where we’re going to do effectively one state at a time,” said Hession in July. “We’ll roll out into the other states throughout the year, ending in Ontario in Q1 [2025].
“Horseshoe is a great brand, and we feel like it’s going to resonate with a lot of customers. But Caesars is an even better brand. I would expect the Horseshoe to perform very strongly, but I don’t think it will command the market share Caesars will.”
Wynn’s US exit complete
The Horseshoe launch also means that WynnBET has left the U.S. online gaming market for good.
The company had already shut down in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Indiana, Tennessee, New Jersey, West Virginia and Virginia.
Its sportsbook officially stopped taking bets in New York as of July 30 and after a longer-than-expected delay, it was replaced by PENN Entertainment’s ESPN BET at the end of September.
