Michigan has joined Maryland and New York in failing to get legal sports betting onto the statute books before the closure of its state legislature. The state, which has been actively seeking to introduce sports betting post-PASPA, has seen a bundle of bills passed by the Senate, but with the deadline for final sign off having passed, they will now be pored over during the summer recess.
The key piece of legislation for consideration is Bill S203 which moves to establish an internet gaming division under the auspices of Michigan’s Gaming Control Board. The division would have responsibility for overall operator licensing and regulation. The cost to apply has been provisionally set at $100,000 per operator, allied to an initial licensing fee of $200,000. Operators must then pay $100,000 annually thereafter to maintain the licence.
For online providers, the fees are significantly lower at $5,000 for the initial application and the same amount again to pay for the licence. The annual renewal cost will be $2,500. In terms of tax, Michigan has been comparatively lenient, with a 10 per cent levy on online gross gaming revenues being proposed.
While Michigan has hard and fast figures down on paper, the real shape of a legal sports betting sector will undoubtedly be influenced by negotiations with the state’s tribes who, between them, operate more than 20 venues. They are not governed by state regulations, but will be instrumental in talks about the future of sports betting in the run up to when state legislature reconvenes in the autumn.
In other news regarding Michigan’s gaming sector, the Gambling Control Board has released revenue figures for May 2018 for its three Detroit casinos. They achieved a combined 3.9 per cent increase to $124.6m on the same period last year. MGM led with $54.3m in monthly aggregate revenue, a 7.6 percent increase. MotorCity revenue was ahead 2.2 per cent to $41.5m, and Greektown recorded a 0.02 per cent increase to $28.8m.
