Michigan sports betting officially began Wednesday at 1 p.m. at two of Detroit’s commercial casinos, becoming the 16th US state to take a legal sports bet.
Both MGM Resorts‘ MGM Grand Detroit and Penn National‘s Greektown opened their sportsbooks Wednesday. MotorCity, which is partnering with FanDuel Sportsbook, will launch Thursday.
Penn National will add Barstool Sportsbook branding to the book, which will eventually be relocated to the heart of the casino floor.
Other Michigan sports betting partners
Even though there are just three commercial casinos, Michigan’s 23 tribal casinos offer plenty of opportunities for other brands.
So far, Fox Bet, PointsBet and William Hill have all agreed to tribal deals. William Hill expects its sportsbook at Turtle Creek Casino and a satellite location at Leelanau Sands Casino & Lodge to open before this football season.
The biggest draw of the tribal deals appears to be the online access, but that will have to wait.
Online betting delayed until next year
Michigan’s gaming regulator is taking its time with the launch of online sports betting and online casino.
“MGCB staff continues to develop administrative rules for online sports betting, online casino gaming and fantasy sports,” the regulator said. “The rules should be final by early 2021, and online and mobile sports betting and gaming can begin next year after proper licenses are issued to the Michigan tribes and the Detroit commercial casinos and the firms that assist with these activities.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer instructed the commission not to use emergency rules to expedite the process.
MI sports betting came down to the wire
The fact that Michigan will get to bet on March Madness this year never seemed possible in early December.
But Sen. Charles Hertel Jr. helped bring Whitmer back to the negotiating table to get the bill signed right before Christmas.
Michigan will tax sports betting revenue at 8.4%. Detroit’s commercial casinos will pay another 1.25% city tax, which legislators say is effectively 3.25%.
