Why do casino operators pay national apps to reach players already sitting in their own database?
Michigan is the second-biggest online casino market in the US. It brought in $3.1B in 2025, up 29.5%.
About 88% of that goes to five national apps: BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and Golden Nugget. Around ten local and tribal operators split what is left.
Those locals have what no app can buy: a known name, their own player lists, loyalty data, VIP relationships, and people walking through the door every week. In October 2025 one Michigan tribal operator linked its floor loyalty programme so points earn and spend across both the casino and the app. A player you reach on the floor and the app is worth about a third more, and you already own them.
A player you sign on the casino floor is the cheapest online player you will ever get. You already own them.
The national apps’ whole business is paying to reach exactly that person. So when you run your floor and your app as two separate things, you pay again to reach people already on your list, while a national brand books the same customer as an asset it keeps.
Same player, two balance sheets. The value you built on the floor gets banked by someone else.
The operators who link the floor to the app, and then market it, pull their best players back off the national brands. On their own base, the cost to win an online player drops toward zero.
The tell to watch: the first local operator that offers one membership across floor and app in place of two. Expect the gap to widen fastest in the older, settled markets.