Regulators in the state of Michigan have approved online gambling and online sports betting expansion and the new forms of gambling are set to officially kick off at noon on January 22nd.
Yesterday, the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) revealed that it gave the green light to the first nine casinos and their online platforms to start offering online sports betting and online gambling services at that time. The state’s gambling watchdog also shared that some aspects of the expansion expect additional approvals in the next few days.
Online gambling and sports betting services were made officially legal by the local Legislature and Governor Gretchen Whitmer in December 2019, with Michigan regulator spending an entire year making rules and devising the most appropriate ways to license, control and monitor the new platforms that are set to kick off in the state.
For the time being, a total of nine platforms and their associated operators will be able to offer online gambling and sports betting services on the territory of Michigan – DraftKings for the Bay Mills Indian Community, FanDuel for MotorCity Casino, Wynn for the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, BetMGM/ Roar Digital for MGM Grand Detroit, William Hill for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Rush Street for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Hannahville Indian Community represented by the TwinSpires platform, Greektown Casino represented by Penn Sports Interactive/Barstool Sportsbook and the Golden Nugget Online Gambling for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.
Online Gambling and Sports Betting Operators Have Time to Test Their Platforms until Friday
Under the new online gambling and sports betting legislation, the minimum age for accessing the new forms of gambling is set on 21.
Individuals, who take part in sports betting do not have to be residents of Michigan, but they are required to be situated within the borders of the state at the time when their bets are placed via a computer or smartphone application. Customers from Ohio, where online sports betting is not legally permitted, could use the new online gambling and sports betting apps of the state of Michigan.
The executive director of the state’s gambling watchdog, Richard Kalm, explained that the days between January 19th and January 22nd would be available for the online platforms to do their tests and make the necessary adjustments for offering their services. He also confirmed that some of the online gambling and sports betting platforms, including DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM, have already been advertising their services and offering customers the chance to register with their betting platforms but placing bets has not been available for now.
Michigan authorities allowed in-person sports betting services to start in March 2020 but had no time to develop as the coronavirus pandemic outbreak forced them to cease operations. Local sports betting venues were allowed to reopen in the summer only to shut doors once again on November 18th. They have been permitted to operate at reduced capacity since December 22nd, 2020.
