Michigan Online Gambling and Sports Betting Launches

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There’s good news and bad news for Michigan online gambling enthusiasts. Online gambling is officially live in the Wolverine State. After over a year of waiting, online casinos and online sports betting are now live in Michigan. Nine platforms will be available in Michigan for online sports betting and eight for online casino games.

Unfortunately, online poker is not launching as of yet. The head of the Michigan Gaming Control Board says that some providers need additional time for testing. So for now, you won’t be able to play on PokerStars in Michigan.

Online Gambling Launches in Michigan

News broke earlier this week that Michigan was finally launching online gambling and online sports betting. The launch officially happened at Noon on Friday, January 22nd. At this time, the following operators are offering iGaming services:

• Barstool Sportsbook – (Greektown Casino)
• BetMGM – (MGM Grand Detroit)
• BetRivers – (Little River Casino Resort)
• DraftKings – (Bay Mills Resort)
• FanDuel – (MotorCity Casino)
• Golden Nugget – (Ojibwa Casino)
• TwinSpires – (Island Resort & Casino)
• William Hill – (Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel)
• WynnBET – (Kewadin Casino)

Out of the nine providers listed, Barstool will only offer online sports betting at this time. All other providers will offer online casino games and online sportsbooks. It didn’t take long before the sportsbooks saw significant action.

According to Online Poker Report, Barstool has already taken a six-figure bet on the Detroit Pistons to beat the spread in a Friday night game against the Houston Rockets. The identity of the bettor is unknown.

For years, Michiganders have gambled online illegally. But when sports betting and online gambling are legalized for the first time on Friday, the state will reap its tax revenue. “The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) and the state’s commercial and https://t.co/9Y2EyCQfvJ pic.twitter.com/0wFH1yN6rp

— ENM News (@Newsenm) January 23, 2021

Early on, the BetMGM mobile app was experiencing some issues, but otherwise, there hasn’t been much negative to say about online gambling in Michigan. The first few days of any online gambling launch are used to iron out any issues, so it is likely the BetMGM matter will resolve quickly.

Online Poker is Not Launching – For Now

Similar to Pennsylvania, Michigan online poker is not launching on Friday. According to Richard Kalm, the Executive Director of the MGCB, certain platform providers need a few additional days to conduct testing of products. As such, we could see online poker launch sometime in the next week or two.

If you remember, it took a few months for PokerStars to finally launch following the launch of online gambling. We don’t expect the same for Michigan. However, we do expect that PokerStars may be the only online poker site to launch in the early days of online gambling.

Michigan's online gambling market will launch this Friday at noon. Online poker, however, is likely coming later. https://t.co/g0F0Nu2GJF pic.twitter.com/fbibjQ6A0m

— Card Player: The Poker Authority (@CardPlayerMedia) January 20, 2021

As of yet, we have heard nothing regarding any potential launches of partypoker or WSOP.com in Michigan. Neither site has launched in Pennsylvania, so who knows the company’s strategy for US expansion.

One difference between Michigan and Pennsylvania is that Michigan has recently passed legislation that will allow for interstate online poker compacts. This could give partypoker and the WSOP some added incentive to go ahead with a launch. However, both sites still have time as Kalm has stated that it may be late 2021 before we see online compacts struck with other states.

Recent Wire Act Verdict Could Speed Things Along

The Wire Act appeal came down in favor of online poker and online gambling. As such, we could see some timelines accelerated. We could also see Pennsylvania explore interstate compacts. Should PA decide to allow interstate compacts, we could partypoker, WSOP, and maybe other brands look into speeding up launches in other states.

For now, we predict that PokerStars will launch sometime by the end of this month or the first week of February. From there, we should see partypoker and WSOP.com come online by the Summer. This will give them plenty of time to establish software and servers before compacts are struck with New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada.