Legal sports betting launches at MGM Grand Detroit

Legal retail sports betting launches in Michigan at MGM Grand Detroit

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) announced Wednesday the launch of legalized sports betting at the MGM Grand Detroit through its BetMGM Sports Lounge.

In December 2019, Michigan passed legislation around a two-step timeline for legalizing sports betting within the state. Retail sports betting went live Wednesday, March 11, while online and mobile wagering (along with iGaming) are expected to come at a later date, but not before receipt of all of the necessary regulatory approvals.

“Twenty years ago, MGM Resorts bet on the great City of Detroit with an $800 million commitment to create the city’s first and only integrated luxury casino resort built from the ground up,” said David Tsai, President & COO of MGM Grand Detroit said via a release obtained by SportsbookWire. “We’ve been able to help stimulate the local and state economy by creating thousands of jobs, making substantial infrastructure investments, and contributing over $2.8 billion in tax revenue to the City and State since opening. As the market leader in Detroit, we’re proud to be part of this groundbreaking moment for Michigan gaming and to bring a world-class sports betting and entertainment experience to our guests.”

BetMGM Sports Lounge has a variety of features, including:

  • Over-the counter betting
  • Bar top video poker machines
  • Wall-to-wall HDTV coverage of daily games
  • Full bar with signature craft cocktails and local craft beers

Sports fans looking to place a legal sports wager on games can also utilize BetMGM kiosks throughout the MGM Grand Detroit to place their bets.

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BetMGM, which provides a marquee betting offering from Roar Digital, the joint venture between MGM Resorts and GVC Holdings (LSE: GVC), has been busy recently, rolling out into new states and revamping their properties in Nevada. BetMGM Sports Lounges can be found within MGM Resorts properties, while they also offer legal online and mobile sports betting through the BetMGM app in New Jersey, West Virginia, Indiana and Nevada.

“Michigan is home to some of the nation’s most enthusiastic sports fans. MGM Resorts and Roar Digital are excited to be opening BetMGM Sports Lounge at MGM Grand Detroit in time for college basketball’s tournament season,” Scott Butera, President of Interactive Gaming for MGM Resorts, said in a release. “We worked with the most creative design talent to create a world-class sports book and lounge with amenities that will give our guests an exciting sports viewing experience.”

Follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Michigan Legislature sends internet gaming, sports betting bills to governor

Legalized sports betting and internet gaming could be available in Michigan soon.

LANSING – Internet gaming and sports betting is soon expected to be legal in Michigan after the Legislature sent a package of bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday, on the last session day of the year.

The bills, which are expected to be signed by Whitmer, will allow existing licensed casinos to offer poker, blackjack, slots and other casino-style games over the Internet.

The legislation also will allow those casinos to set up theaters to accept wagers on live sporting events and accept sports bets online.

“It’s been a long journey to move sports betting and casino-style gaming into a regulated, safe and modern environment – but the end is in sight, and with it a great opportunity for Michigan will begin,” said state Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Oshtemo Township, a major sponsor of the package.

The Senate passed the gaming bills by overwhelming margins early Wednesday afternoon and returned them to the House, which had already passed the same bills, to concur with changes the Senate made. The House concurred Wednesday with changes to all but one of the bills, which is expected to be voted on early next year and only deals with a penalty provision, not the central legalization issue.

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How soon online gaming actually begins in Michigan will depend on a number of factors, assuming Whitmer signs the legislation, officials said. Those include how long it takes to produce rules to accompany the legislation, how long licensing takes, and how long it takes for licensed operators to have the required technology in place.

“My hope is that by March Madness, it will be live,” said Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, who spearheaded negotiations related to the bills on behalf of the governor, referencing the NCAA basketball tournament.

Together, online gaming and sports betting are expected to raise between $15 million and $40 million annually for the School Aid Fund, based on preliminary estimates from the Senate Fiscal Agency.

More: Senate votes to lift ban on political giving by casino interests

More: Sports betting legislation getting support from Michigan Indian tribes

The bills should also be a boon for Detroit casinos and provide a hedge for them against a likely downturn in the mature casino market after years of steady growth, said Alex Calderone, a financial consultant with expertise in the gaming industry who is managing director of Calderone Advisory Group in Birmingham.

“This is a game changer, where this is an opportunity to grow the pie,” Calderone said.

Sports betting, in particular, has the potential to draw new customers to downtown Detroit casinos who will also patronize nearby bars and restaurants, he said. Detroit’s MGM Grand is already promoting its new Moneyline Sports Lounge, with 60 TVs, in anticipation of the change, he said.

But Calderone said it’s possible the Michigan Lottery could lose some business to online gambling. That would cut into whatever financial gains the School Aid Fund made as a result of online gaming, since most lottery proceeds also go to the School Aid Fund.

There are also worries that online gaming and sports betting could increase problem gambling in Michigan.

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Michael Burke, executive director of the Michigan Association on Problem Gambling, told the House Committee on Regulatory Reform in September that legal sports betting will result in vast increases in advertising, with sports and gambling enthusiasts being urged to bet during games. The explosion in cellphone technology will result in an ease of betting that will compound problems for those with gambling addictions, he said in written testimony.

Burke urged lawmakers to allocate at least 1% of revenue to combating problem gambling. The legislation provides for $1 million a year for that purpose, with half coming from Internet gaming and half from sports betting.

Other bills in the package provide for licensing of online fantasy game operators and third-party facilitators to handle online wagers on horse races.

Whitmer, a Democrat, has expressed support for the package, subject to a detailed review.

“The governor is pleased with the progress made on gaming over the course of this year,” spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said Tuesday, after a Senate committee advanced the bills.

“The governor’s top priority when getting this done was to protect the School Aid Fund,” Brown said.

“This is a good, bipartisan solution made possible by working together on a complex issue and the governor looks forward to reviewing this package once it hits her desk.”

Jill Dorson, a legislative analyst who covers sports betting legislation for SportsHandle, said 12 states outside Michigan have live, legal sports betting. Another six jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, have legalized sports betting but have yet to launch it, she said.

Michigan’s 8.4% tax rate on sports betting is seen as a good one by operators, who feel they can work with any rate below 10% in what is a thin profit-margin industry, Dorson said.

The part of the Michigan legislation the operators don’t like is a mandate that they buy sports data used for proposition bets — such as the length of a drive in a professional golf tournament — from leagues such as the PGA, NFL, NBA and NHL, she said. Two other states have included such requirements in their sports betting legislation and it’s not yet clear what sort of costs the requirement will add to sports betting operations, she said.

Michigan will be the first state with a large tribal casino component to launch legal sports betting, Dorson said.

Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, voted against the gambling bills, as did Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, and Sen. Roger Victory, R-Georgetown Township.

McBroom said the state is addicted to money, just as some people are addicted to gambling.

“We are constantly pushing the boundaries of social mores,” said McBroom, citing the “glorification of alcohol” and the recent legalization of marijuana.

Gambling appeals “to the basest of human instincts to avoid work and get your bread without any sweat,” he said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.  Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.  

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4 types of online gambling expected to be legal in Michigan soon

Legalized sports betting is expected to be available in Michigan soon.

Four types of online gambling, including sports betting, could be operating legally in Michigan by March if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as expected, signs a package of bills sent to her Wednesday by the Legislature.

The Senate passed the bills by overwhelming and bipartisan votes early Wednesday afternoon. The House had already passed the bills, but had to concur with changes the Senate made to some of them before sending them on to the governor. That happened with all but one of the bills, which is expected to be sent to the governor early next year, and only deals with a penalty issue, not legalization itself.

How soon Internet gaming and sports betting would actually begin in Michigan would depend on a number of factors, including how long it takes to produce rules related to the legislation, how long licensing takes, and how soon licensed operators have technology in place, officials said.

“My hope is that by March Madness, it will be live,” said state Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, referencing the NCAA basketball tournament.

The following types of gambling would be newly legal:

Internet gambling

  • The legislation legalizes Internet gaming, including poker, blackjack, slots, and other casino-style games.
  • Internet gambling can only be offered by existing Michigan casinos, be they Detroit casinos or tribal casinos located around the state.
  • Players must be 21 or older.
  • Casinos operating Internet gambling will be subject to a $50,000 application fee, a $100,000 initial license fee, and a $50,000 annual fee. A license is good for five years.
  • Those who supply casinos offering Internet gaming will have to be licensed and will be subject to a $5,000 application fee, a $5,000 initial license fee, and a $2,500 annual fee.
  • The legislation creates the Internet Gaming Fund and requires fees and taxes to be paid into the fund.
  • Online gaming would be taxed at between 20% and 28%, with the lowest rate applying to adjusted gross receipts below $4 million and the highest rate applying to adjusted gross receipts of $12 million or more. That tax rate is considerably higher than an earlier version of the legislation, which had a tax rate of 4% to 23%.
  • To allow for free play to encourage Internet gaming, the casinos would be able to deduct 10% from the gross receipts, which would otherwise be taxed, for the first three years, 6% in the fourth year, and 4% in the fifth year. After that, no allowance is made for free play.
  • Proceeds from the state tax on Internet gaming would be distributed as follows: 30% to the city in which the sports betting operator’s casino is located, to be spent on policing and other public safety programs; 65% to the state’s Internet Betting Fund, and 5% or up to $3 million annually to a fund to support and promote the horse racing industry.
  • Money from the Internet Betting Fund could be used to cover administrative costs, with $2 million allocated to support first responders, $500,000 annually to combat compulsive gambling, and the balance going to the School Aid Fund.

Read the legislation:House Bills 43114312, and 4323.

More: Legal internet gaming, sports betting nears final OK in Michigan: What will change

More: Senate votes to lift ban on political giving by casino interests

More: Sports betting legislation getting support from Michigan Indian tribes

Sports betting

  • Sports wagering will be legalized and can be offered live or online by existing casinos.
  • Sports betting will be taxed at a rate of 8.4%, with an extra 3.25% paid by casinos in the City of Detroit. That’s down from a rate of 8.75% in a version the state House passed earlier.
  • Proceeds from the 8.4% tax on sports betting will be divided as follows: 30% to the city in which the sports betting operator’s casino is located, to be spent on policing and other public safety programs; 65% to the state’s Internet Sports Betting Fund, and 5% or up to $3 million annually to a fund to support and promote the horse racing industry.

Read the Legislation: House Bill 49164917, and 4918.

Fantasy contests

  • A Fantasy Contests Consumer Protection Act would regulate games in which players draft fantasy “teams” composed of players from multiple teams in a given sports such as NFL football. Fantasy team owners then use scoring by those players in real games to compete in “fantasy” games against other fantasy team owners.
  • A fantasy contest operator would have to be licensed by the state, through the Michigan Gaming Control Board, but would not have to be a casino operator, as is the case with those operating online gaming and sports betting.
  • Operators would be charged an initial fee of $10,000 and $5,000 annually for renewals. That’s down from $50,000 for an initial fee and $20,000 for renewals, under an earlier form of the bill.
  • Fantasy sports would be taxed at 8.4%.
  • The legislation would not apply to home-operated fantasy leagues where participation is not available to the general public, there are no more than 15 participants, and no more than $10,000 collected in entry fees.

Read the legislation: House Bills 4308 and 4309.

Horse racing facilitators

Would provide for the licensing of “third-party facilitators” who could take bets on horse races electronically, in addition to the bets that can be placed on live or simulcast races at the track, under existing law.

Read the legislation:House Bill 4310 and Senate Bills 12 and 661.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.  Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

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