Michigan Commercial Casino Operators Looking To Launch Sportsbooks And Online Gambling By 2020
One of the more interested developments to emerge in the gambling world post-PASPA is to observe just how few states are pursuing online gaming with the same vigor as they appear to be courting sports wagering.
Michigan, at least by initial appearances, is not one of those states. Pretty much only Pennsylvania has taken active steps toward implementing legal online casino gambling to go along with a general expansion of gambling that includes sports betting, but Michigan looks to be getting in on the game. Well, at least it looks like the Great Lake State is interested in getting in on the game.
The US Supreme Court decided via 6-3 majority to overturn PASPA – that being the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 – which had for more than a quarter of a century prohibited 46 of 50 states from passing laws of their own to regulate sports betting. Since Michigan was not among those four states grandfathered in and allowed to keep what sports betting activities it already had on the books, lawmakers in the Wolverine State are certainly interested in testing the waters and possibly moving to open some sportsbooks at the state’s casinos. That situation is not so uncommon, as nearly two dozen states around the country are in a similar situation with their own proposed legislation, but what sets Michigan apart (or at least puts the state in rarified company) is that legislators are looking at online gambling too.
State Rep. Brandt Iden (R-Kalamazoo) introduced a proposed bill to legalize online casino gaming back in December of 2017, and the Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee approved it even though it included a provision to legalize sports betting. Online gambling and sports betting are, sadly, two of the more controversial wagering varieties out there, so for a key committee to approve a proposed bill that would allow both activities indicates that there must be a good deal of political will to eventually make that bill into a law.
Iden told local media in the few weeks after the SCOTUS justices returned their decision to overturn PASPA that his goal in putting the bill forward was to help Michigan cash in on the booming online sports betting market (which some reliable estimates put anywhere between $150 billion and $250 billion). The bill enables the state to collect taxes from not only Michigan’s three Detroit casinos but also tribal casinos if they apply for and obtain the necessary licensure. Iden said he looks for the bill to be passed later this year, but he also acknowledged that there is a one-year window in place for casinos to get their sportsbook operations’ arrangements settled, with the aim of being able to start accepting wagers on sports by 2020 at the latest
No projections as to potential revenues have been released by the state budget office, but the taxable revenues should be tremendous. It is no exaggeration to say that there are unknown billions of dollars bet by Michigan residents every year sports betting in Michigan, with the majority of that money going to legal offshore sports betting account and not to the sportsbooks on the Las Vegas Strip. The chance to get some of that money back in Michigan’s public coffers is obviously a tremendous inducement for lawmakers to pass Iden’s bill, and he knows it.
“If taxes would have been levied on those wagers, it could have equated to millions of dollars in potential revenue for our state, which could have been used to fix our crumbling roads or provide educational opportunities for the children of our state,” he said.BetOnline is another one of the best and most trusted online sportsbooks for Michigan residents. They feature a ton of great betting lines for Michigan sports teams, including the Green and White in East Lansing, or the rivals in Ann Arbor. BetOnline offers one of the best bonuses you will find at an online sportsbooks, going at 25 percent up to $1,000 on every deposit, not just an initial deposit bonus. BetOnline is a great option to wager on sports online for residents in Michigan.
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