Michigan Online Sports Betting

Legal Sports Betting in Michigan is not yet available. Whilst Sports Betting has a little way to go before it will become fully legalized, the great news for sports bettors is that it will be legal soon (or at least that’s how we read the moves of the Michigan state legislators).

How and when legalized sports betting in Michigan (MI) will be implemented remains unclear, however, we anticipate the state legislators will allow some form of legalized sports betting in 2019.

The first Michigan Sports Betting Bill (House Bill 4926) has passed the State House; however, a Second Bill is required to ratify the decision into law.

The state of Michigan’s second piece of legislation on the legalization of sports betting will prepare the groundwork for introducing sports betting to the state’s bricks-and-mortar, land-based casinos. The legislators are also looking to address larger concerns such as setting up the Michigan state tax rate on legal sports betting. A draft of the bill is not yet ready.

In the future, as the State laws become passed, however, you should be able to bet on sports anywhere within the state of Michigan and shortly thereafter, the concept of ‘Michigan online casino’ may become more palatable to the state’s lawmakers.

Sports Betting Online in the state of Michigan is not currently offered. The State’s first legal sports betting options are expected to be established at the state’s land-based casinos to begin with and given the state’s long history and affiliation with Native American casinos, perhaps legal sports betting will make an appearance at Michigan’s number of Tribal Casinos.

Whilst not the most open of states to liberal gaming laws, believe it or not on a nation-wide level, Michigan is one of the more liberal and open-minded states to gambling legalization and sports betting in general. Consequently, it may only be potentially a matter of a short time until we advise you of where you can bet legally online in Michigan.

We will keep you up-to-date in the unfolding legal environment and the best online sports betting sites as they become available in the state of Michigan.

Not at all related to regular casino games of random chance, Fantasy Sports betting has long been exempted from US federal legislation as it is widely considered to be a contest of skill.

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) are permitted in Michigan even though the legal status of the games has never been affirmed in the positive by legislation.

Back in 2015, Michigan’s DFS fans received a scare when a legalization bill failed to win support of State Legislators. The then-Executive Director of the Michigan Gaming Board said that DFS would continue to run contrary to the state’s laws. The Gaming Board cannot force gaming law to be adopted and the Attorney General of Michigan has never ventured into the debate.

Michigan again attempted to legalize fantasy sports in 2017 with the introduction of Senate Bill 0461 to legalize DFS and Senate Bill 0462 to regulate the industry. Both bills passed the initial committee reviews before moving on for further consideration

That status quo remains in effect in Michigan to the current day.

The current proposal states that DFS sites must be licensed to operate in Michigan and are subject to a number of consumer protection regulations. Requirements include:

• All sites be licensed
• All sites prohibit employees and sporting officials from taking part
• They may only accept customers over 18
• They must be subject to independent audits
• They must keep players’ funds in a separate account from operator funds (in order to protect customers’ deposits).

Given the unprecedented decision of the U.S. Federal Supreme Court in May 2018 to rule in favor of legalizing sports betting, we anticipate that eSports betting will lead the way as a sports betting legislation ‘lubricant’ in Michigan in the very near future.

What are eSports?

Given the unprecedented decision of the U.S. Federal Supreme Court in May 2018 to rule in favor of legalizing sports betting, we anticipate that eSports betting will lead the way as a sports betting legislation ‘lubricant’ in Michigan in the very near future.

eSports has transformed video game play at its highest-level into a full-time professional sport in which the best players sign multi-million-dollar contracts to compete for glory. eSports are mostly played by teams and in league and tournament formats.

The electronic games themselves are equivalent to different sports types. For example, in eSports, the games CS:GO and Overwatch are equivalent to, say, NHL and MLB. eSports is the theoretical concept, while the different electronic game types are loosely equivalent to different sport types.

Betting on eSports is growing enormously in popularity every year. International sportsbooks offer a range of betting markets across all major eSports tournaments and formats.

With the $100 billion revenue threshold mark globally in 2018 about to be crossed, eSports is easily the highest-level competition in gaming today with all the best players in the world taking part, and with millions of fanatical fans across the globe.

Watch for betting on eSports shortly on a soon-to-be-legal Michigan sportsbook.

Horse Racing Betting is legal (course/track side and online betting) for all residents of the state of Michigan (over the age of 18).

Currently, whilst there might be some restrictive laws when it comes to various betting types in Michigan, in the meantime it is completely legal to spend the day watching the races and bet on horses in the Great Lakes State.

Michigan state residents can wager on horse races both Track side and online. All of the largest horse betting websites accessible in the United States have a presence in the state of Michigan.

Trackside

Michigan is home to 3 live racing venues that accept wagers on horse races. Horse racing in the state is regulated by Michigan Racing Association and the Harness Horse Breeders of Michigan and administered under the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Off Track Betting (OTB) in Michigan

There are no stand-alone OTBs in the state of Michigan and it is not possible to bet on horse racing in the states 32 casinos. Best to stick to the excellent online betting facilities when betting off-track in Michigan.

Online Horse Racing in Michigan

Three major horse racing online betting sites all accept customers over the age of 18 from Michigan and offer wagering on races in Michigan, elsewhere in the U.S. and around the world are all available.

Visit our Michigan Online Gambling Page for information on Michigan’s laws and online casino reviews