Sports Betting in Michigan
Beginning in March 2020, Michigan casinos were authorized to implement sports betting. Currently, seven of the state’s 23 casinos are operating a sportsbook, with more to follow. Online sports betting is expected to be implemented in the next two or three months.
Bettors can place wagers on sports at the following casinos:
- MGM Grand Detroit
- MotorCity Casino in Detroit
- Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit
- FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek
- Four Winds in Dowagiac, Hartford and New Buffalo
- Little River Casino in Manistee
- The Island Resort and Casino in Harris
- Turtle Creek Casino
- Leelanau Sands Casino
The sportsbooks at some of these casinos are operated by several different entities. William Hill, which is being acquired by Caesars Entertainment, operates the sportsbooks at Turtle Creek and Leelanau Sands under the Onyx brand.
At Greektown, it’s a Barstool Operation, and FanDuel gets in the game at MotorCity. BetAmerica handles the sportsbook at Island Resort & Casino with the MGM Grand using BetMGM for its sports action.
Other big players about to enter the market include Parx Casino, which has a big presence in Pennsylvania. It will be partnering with Gun Lake Casino in Wayland. DraftKings will make its Michigan debut with a sportsbook at Bay Mills Casino in Brimley.
PointsBet will be operating out of Northern Waters Casino Resort in Watersmeet. Kewadin Casinos, with five Upper Peninsula locations in Christmas, Hessel, Manistique, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace, will partner with GAN for its sports betting operation.
Golden Nugget and Ojibwa Casino in Baraga and Marquette have partnered in those sportsbook operations.
Online Poker in Michigan
Online poker is coming to Michigan, and according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, it should be live by late fall. The state-approved online gaming and sports betting in December 2019. The gaming will include poker, blackjack, slots, video poker and other casino games.
Applications for online licenses are limited to operators of the three commercial and 12 tribal casinos in the state of Michigan. Currently, the state is in the process of revising and finalizing the rules for online gaming and sports betting. Once the rules are approved, they will begin the application review and approval process.
Three major online poker sites are reported to be making a play for entry into the Michigan market. To do so, they will need to forge a partnership with one of the commercial or tribal casinos and apply for a license for a separate poker brand. The licensees are allowed to create one casino and one poker brand.
PokerStars’ parent company, The Stars Group, which operates online poker rooms in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, already has an agreement with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. The deal is for Stars to get the first crack at providing online gaming, including poker, for the state of Michigan.
MGM has partnered with GVC, the parent company of online poker provider PartyPoker. The biggest casino in Michigan is the MGM Grand Detroit, so it’s widely presumed that this group will submit applications to provide online gaming, sports betting and poker in the state. No formal announcement has been made.
No other poker site has announced an agreement with a casino in the state. WSOP.com partners with Caesars, but the largest casino operator does not have a Michigan location. To get in the game in the state, they’ll have to find a partner from among the other casinos that have yet to name an online provider.
What about DFS in Michigan?
In Michigan, 2020 has been a historic year for the sports betting industry. Wagering on sports in casinos began in March, was interrupted during COVID-19-related shutdowns and subsequently resumed with the reopening of activities in the state. Online sports betting was legalized in late 2019 but isn’t expected to begin until November at the earliest.
Since its inception, operators of daily fantasy sports (DFS) have accepted customers from Michigan, believing that the state allowed such activity. Without clear guidance, DraftKings and FanDuel developed a strong customer base in Michigan that represents about 4% of their total revenue.
With the passage of the Lawful Internet Gaming Act in 2019, DFS sites were made legal in Michigan and are subject to state regulation and taxation. DFS operators are subject to a tax of 8.4% of revenue from customers within the state.
In January 2020, DFS in Michigan came out of the gates with over $1.6 million in combined revenue, sending $136,000 in taxes to the state. DraftKings and FanDuel were roughly even in market share and combined for 90% of the DFS action in the state. Several other sites, most notably Fantasy Football Players Championship, divided up the remaining 10%.
By July, the last month for which data is available, DraftKings had captured 70% of the market, with FanDuel continuing a slide that began in February and resulting in just a 25% share. From January to July, the industry had seen Michigan revenues of just over $4.9 million, with 57% coming from DraftKings and 34% from FanDuel.
With the NBA and Major League Baseball resuming play in August, followed by the NFL and college football in September, those revenue figures will undoubtedly rise. With online sportsbooks still on the sidelines, DFS is the only legal option available for internet sports wagers in Michigan.
