DETROIT – Sports betting in the state of Michigan is now live! The very first sportsbooks started to take in-person bets in March 2020 and online sports betting options launched in January 2021. Since then, the numbers have impressed even those who were initially sceptical, or even unsupportive, of the push to legalize sports betting and gambling. More and more people in Michigan are trying out online sports betting and realizing just how much fun they can have on an online sports betting platform.
As more people place sports bets and play games on online casinos, the revenue grows and so does the tax revenue collected by the state to fund state and local government projects. Now more than ever, local governments can use the support of additional sources of funding for infrastructure and to support projects and funds.
Michigan’s path to legalization
In December 2019, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the Lawful Internet Gaming Act which opened the doors to online gaming. The Act allowed all companies which hold a casino licence to partner with one online casino brand and one online poker brand to launch operations. Currently, this includes the twelve tribes in Michigan along with three different commercial casinos licensed in Detroit.
The top online gaming operators in the state
As of March 16th, over $109,083,638 of online gambling revenue has been collected and from that, over $18,317,351 has been taxed by the state for local government support and initiatives. According to Michigan State records, MGM Grand Detroit is one of the biggest players in the industry and they continue to dominate the market online as they collected nearly $38 million in revenue in January and February alone. The state of Michigan also received almost $7 million in tax revenue from MGM Grand’s operations for two months.
MotorCity Casino is another of the top casino operators in Michigan and in January and February they generated roughly $20.8 million in revenue over the course of the two months. Following MotorCity Casino is Bay Mills Indian Community which collected $19.9 million in revenue, followed by Greektown Casino which generated $4.7 million in revenue in the same time period.
These are the numbers from the first two months of operations alone, so you can imagine that once the industry becomes more popular and more normalized, the revenue – and tax dollars – will greatly increase. It is also likely that increasing numbers of online gambling providers will develop in Michigan, or work to attract a Michigan-based following as inter-state laws continue to relax.
The hyper-competitive online gambling industry
The online gambling industry has grown considerably over the course of the last five years and it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. As more states like Michigan liberalize their gambling legislation and increasing numbers of Americans start gambling online, the industry will only continue to grow in both size and density.
Whether you are a novice gambler looking for a platform to start playing for the first time, or you are a veteran gambler interested in trying something new, there are hundreds of different online casinos and online sports betting platforms to choose from. It can be difficult to find the right platform if you do not already know where to start.
As a more experienced bettor might tell you, looking for Michigan online casino no deposit bonus options available should be one of your first ports of call. Alongside this, detailed reviews and helpful guides on how to gamble online are available. While doing your research is definitely worth it, it can be a time-consuming process, so a trusted comparison site may be your friend here.
Looking ahead to the future
Michigan only started allowing online gambling options in January 2021 and after just two short months, millions of dollars have already been collected for local government. A wave of legalization has been sweeping the United States as more and more states realize that their residents enjoy online gambling and that the gambling itself produces helpful tax revenue for the state.
As we look ahead to the next few years, you can be sure that additional states will start looking over their gambling legislation and considering whether or not to update it. Mobile technology is becoming increasingly ubiquitous and larger numbers of Americans have access to the internet every day, wherever they go. This is a process which local, state, and federal governments are going through around the world right now as elected leaders realize just how popular – and profitable – online gambling can be.
