Michigan All Set Legalize Online Gambling

Michigan has made a strong push towards the end of the year to become the 5^th state in the country to legalize online gambling and join the likes of Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. G

There is just a week left for the year to be completed and Michigan surprised a lot of people when the Senate decided to vote 33-5 in favour of the Lawful Internet Gaming Act. The bill to legalize online gambling in the state then received a 71-35 vote in the House to move forward to the final step in the process which is for Governor Rick Snyder to sign the bill into existence.

It is an interesting period as Gov. Snyder has just a few more days left in office before he gets replaced by Gov. Elect Gretchen Whitmer. The legalization of online gambling in Michigan is expected to create a new revenue stream and bring in a significant amount of revenue to the state coffers.

The Bill calls for the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) to create a new online gaming division who will be responsible for issuing iGaming licenses to tribal as well as commercial casinos in the state. The online license application fee is fixed at $100,000 and upon approval, online casino operators will have to pay an additional $200,000 for the first year and another $100,000 for the second year.

Michigan has a 19 percent tax rate for land based casino operators and will receive an 8 percent tax from online casino operators with an additional 1. 25 percent being imposed on commercial casino operators.

Michigan Also Wants Sports Betting

The bill not only calls for the legalization of online gambling but is also pushing for sports betting to be made legal at the same time. There are a number of states in the country who are looking at sports betting legislation and Michigan wants to address the sports betting issue along with the legalization of online casinos – which makes complete sense.

The online gaming division under the MGCB will be responsible for creating and rolling out iGaming legislation within a 12 month period after its formation. Michigan will take a final call on which online casino games will be allowed. Unconfirmed reports suggest that online poker and sports betting will be included in the list of approved online betting games.