Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Photo: AP/Carolyn Kaster On December 20, 2019 Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law the Michigan Internet Gambling Act. This makes it legal for each of Michigan’s 15 casino operators (12 tribal operators and 3 more commercial casinos) to operate an online gambling brand that includes online casino, sports betting and poker.
After the process has been done and licences have been granted, a year later and Michigan online casinos, sportsbooks and poker rooms are still work in progress. But compared with the process in Pennsylvania that took several years, Michigan is actually working at a good pace and making good progress, also considering the COVID-19 pandemic that slowed things down. For now, the Wolverine State is aiming at a launch in mid-January 2021.
Thanks to State legislators pushing the process quickly through committees and signatures, it seems that the regulating body, the Michigan Gaming Control Board will be able to start rolling out quite a few Michigan casino brands in early 2021, followed by more operators joining and growing the market gradually throughout the year.
Michigan online casino sites and apps are preparing their games for launch as we speak, with sports betting apps also tying the last knots before the much-anticipated January launch. As far as Michigan poker, the situation is a bit different. Not as many operators declare their intentions to add online poker to their offering immediately with the launch. But there are some of the world’s largest poker operators that signed deals with some of the Michigan operators.
PartyPoker aligned with MGM Grand Casino Detroit and PokerStars signing a deal with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. So with two of the world’s heavyweights of online poker, Michigan poker players can expect enough player liquidity, prize pools, cash games, tournaments and online poker desktop and mobile software.
Still, majority of the 15 Michigan Casino licence holders will probably wait for a little while before adding online poker to their websites and apps. Dave Murley, the Deputy Director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board said recently that he thinks that many operators do not want to invest money and resources into their online poker offering until they know for sure if Michigan poker sites will be able to share player liquidity with other states.
If there won’t be an amendment to the current Michigan Lawful Internet Gaming Act that currently bans sharing liquidity across state lines, some operators that don’t specialize in poker will be hesitant. Originally the reason for interstate liquidity to be omitted from the state’s gaming bill was Governor Whitmer’s concerns about progressive slots sharing a prize pool across states, and as a result jackpot prizes getting too large and tempting to gamblers.
Michigan State Senator Curtis Hertel was one of the state legislators that was an avid supporter of legalization of online poker and more forms of online gambling. Hertel introduced amendment SB.991 to Michigan’s lawful gaming act on June 25 that authorizes internet gambling to take place across multiple jurisdictions. Some say that the main drive behind this bill was to allow interstate poker.
Hertel told reporters: ‘though it was always expected it (the bill) would pass, it is exciting to see that Michigan will be able to provide a more robust system for online poker players.’ He also added that he is looking forward to the day Michigan online casino operators can become poker operators and ‘shuffle up and deal.’
At the end of September, Michigan’s Committee on Regulatory Reform moved it to the Senate which passed it on October 1 by a 36 to 1 vote. The House they voted on December 17 and approved it by an 85 to 16 vote. The bill landed on Gov. Whitmer’s desk on December 22, and she is expected to sign it soon. There are no known objections from the governor’s office to sign the bill into law.
The current states that have signed up to the MultiState Internet Gaming Agreement (MIGA) are Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. Once Michigan joins, players from the Wolverine State will be able to participate in tournaments, play cash games and share prize pools with players from the MIGA member states. In addition to Michigan, Pennsylvania is also a state that may be joining MIGA soon.
