Michigan legalizes sports gambling and should be ready by 2020 March Madness
It’s true, Michigan just became the 20th state in the United States to grant the citizens of Michigan to legally bet on sports. Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Governor signed the the Lawful Internet Gaming Act, the Lawful Sports Betting Act and the Fantasy Contests Consumer Protection Act — three bills that will regulate sports gambling across the state.
The combined acts provide the requisite sports betting licenses, online gambling permits, and the latter is defining the boundaries of fantasy sports that will be doled out by the authority in the state — the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
In other words, these bills aim to comprehensively cover online casinos in Michigan as well as offline or direct sports gambling. This follows after nearly all the neighboring states to Michigan already allowing for legalized sports betting including Indiana and Illinois.
Costly and Profitable
However, don’t expect to start seeing sports gambling across the state as not everyone will be able to jump into legal gambling in Michigan due to the expensive application fees and cost of the license. Together, it will cost a minimum of $150,000 to enter the door. From Forbes
Per the bill, 23 tribal casinos and three commercial casinos are eligible to apply for a sports betting license which caries a $50,000 application fee, $100,000 for the actual license and another $50,000 fee to be paid each year. Operators will be limited to offering only one online platform, and all will be required to rely on official league data when grading and running live-betting wagering options.
Not only will the cost of starting up a casino or sportsbook will help the states coffers. the profits from the sports gambling will be taxed by the state and used to fund social services around the state.
Under the new legislation, Michigan sports fans will also be able to partake in legal daily fantasy sports, and while the 8.4% tax rate imposed is the same being placed on sports betting, Michigan will offer the DFS operating license for $20,000 followed by a $5,000 annual fee in hopes of giving lesser know products the opportunity to compete with the giants of the industry.
What makes the timing of this decision even more important for Michigan is that the state is expected to have an online gambling site live and operational in time for the start of March Madness brackets being filled out. If you’re familiar with sportsbooks, this is one of the most lucrative sporting events in the United States.