If you participate in those friendly pools at work for college football bowl games and March Madness, there's welcome news from the Wolverine State.
Michigan became the 20th American state to legalize some form of sports betting. The bill became law on Friday morning with the stroke of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's pen. In general, the new law allows for internet gambling and sports betting to be offered through Detroit's three casinos, as well as at tribal-run casinos across the state. Revenue generated by sports betting will go into the Michigan Lottery-supported School Aid Fund, as well as the First Responder Presumed Coverage Fund (FRPCF).
"My top priority in signing this legislation was protecting and investing in the School Aid Fund because our students deserve leaders who put their education first," said Whitmer. "Thanks in part to the hard work and leadership of Senator [Chris] Hertel and Representative [Rebekah] Warren, these bills will put more dollars in Michigan classrooms and increase funding for firefighters battling cancer. This is a real bipartisan win for our state."
The package of bipartisan bills, passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature, allows for the following, according to a release from Whitmer's office:
- Tribal casinos to participate in online gaming and sports betting at an equal level to the Detroit casinos. This revenue will support important tribal community activities.
- Creates the Lawful Internet Gaming Act, which allows the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) to issue licenses for online and mobile casino games to be offered by legal casinos if the applicants meet specific criteria. Casino games can be provided online or on mobile devices.
- Creates the Lawful Sports Betting Act, which legalizes sports betting in casinos, online and mobile. This bill specifies that an internet sports betting wager received by a sports betting operator, or its sports betting platform provider, would be considered gambling or gaming that was conducted in the sports betting operator's casino located in the state of Michigan.
- Creates the Fantasy Contests Consumer Protection Act, which establishes the legal framework to regulate fantasy sports contests within the state. It allows for both paid contest at a commercial level and private contest within specific criteria to be permitted in the state of Michigan.
"The MGCB has begun preparing for the rulemaking process, but it’s a bit early to offer a timeline on when these newly approved forms of betting will begin," said Bean. "We must establish several sets of administrative rules, which pass through many levels of review.
"Because the state Gaming Control Act indicates we can authorize gambling games, in-person sports betting at the Detroit casinos likely will be permitted first," Bean continued. "It will require the agency to license companies that assist the casinos with sports betting. The MGCB will not be involved with on-premises sports betting for tribal casinos, which are governed by federal law."
The new Michigan law comes just days after a meeting took place in Windsor with MPs from the top-three federal parties, union representatives, and elected officials on the need for Canada to move forward with single-game sports betting.
"The government needs to act quickly. The threat is imminent," said Paul Burns, president of the Canadian Gaming Association on Monday. "Michigan will be up and running soon. New York has started other states in other parts of the United States have moved exceptionally quickly to pass bills."
Michigan expects about $19-million a year to be brought in through sports betting. Of that, the School Aid Fund will receive $4.8 million and the FRPCF $4 million.
