Michigan
Michigan's Lawful Internet Gaming Act (Public Act 152 of 2019) and Lawful Sports Betting Act (Public Act 149 of 2019) authorized online casino and online sports betting, both of which launched 22 January 2021. Each internet operator must be tethered to one of the three Detroit commercial casinos or a federally recognized tribal casino and must run through a licensed internet gaming platform provider. The Michigan Gaming Control Board licenses and regulates operators, platform providers, suppliers and key persons.
One launch, two products
Michigan opened regulated online casino play and online sports betting on the same day, 22 January 2021, rather than phasing sports betting in first as many states did. Both rest on statutes signed in December 2019: the Lawful Internet Gaming Act and the Lawful Sports Betting Act. Running the two authorisations in parallel meant a licensed casino could offer internet casino games, poker and sports wagering from one approval window. For a diligence reader, the simultaneity signals that Michigan treated internet casino and betting as a single coordinated market rather than a sequence of separate policy experiments.
Tethering and the cap
Every internet operator must attach to an existing land-based licensee, one of the three Detroit commercial casinos or a federally recognised tribal casino, and must run through a licensed internet gaming platform provider that supplies the technology. Because each casino licensee fields a single online skin, the structure produces a natural ceiling of roughly fifteen operators: three commercial plus around twelve tribal. This design keeps online activity anchored to entities already vetted for land-based gaming, and means market entry depends on securing a casino partner rather than applying to the board directly for an independent licence.
Graduated casino tax
Online casino revenue is taxed on a sliding scale tied to annual adjusted gross receipts: 20% below $4 million, then 22% from $4-8 million, 24% from $8-10 million, 26% from $10-12 million, and 28% above $12 million. Detroit commercial licensees pay a further 1.25% to the City of Detroit, lifting their effective band to roughly 21.25 to 29.25%. Online sports betting is taxed far lower, at 8.4% of adjusted gross sports betting receipts. This tiering contrasts with flat-rate regimes such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where a single casino rate applies regardless of an operator's scale.
Tribal and commercial together
Michigan is one of the few states where tribal and commercial casinos both operate online under a common state framework. Federally recognised tribes, whose land-based gaming rests on compacts and federal law, obtain internet gaming and sports betting authorisation from the state board alongside the three Detroit commercial casinos. The graduated casino tax by statute applies to operators other than Indian tribes, whose contributions are structured through their agreements rather than the Detroit city levy. This coexistence widens the operator pool well beyond the three commercial venues and shapes the roughly fifteen-licence ceiling.
Age, exclusion, geolocation
The minimum age for online play is 21. The board maintains a responsible-gaming database and a statewide self-exclusion programme through which individuals can bar themselves across licensed sites. Because federal law confines legal wagering to within state borders, operators use geolocation technology to confirm a player sits inside Michigan before a wager is accepted. Internet gaming and sports betting licences run for five years and are renewable. Enforcement, vetting of platform providers and licence discipline all sit with the Michigan Gaming Control Board rather than a separate online-only authority.
Tax
Adjusted gross receipts (AGR)
Online casino 20-28% graduated (AGR); online sports betting 8.4%
Graduated online-casino tax on AGR per MCL 432.312: 20% up to $4M, 22% $4-8M, 24% $8-10M, 26% $10-12M, 28% over $12M. Detroit casino licensees pay an additional 1.25% to the City of Detroit (effectively 21.25-29.25%). Online sports betting taxed at 8.4% of adjusted gross sports betting receipts (Detroit licensees add 1.25% city tax).
Key facts
Compare Michigan head-to-head
RTP rules
A statutory minimum applies: each house-banked internet game requiring a wager must have an RTP of at least 80% and no more than 100% unless the Board authorizes otherwise, calculated across the highest and lowest levels of player skill (Mich. Admin. Code R 432.633b(1)).
Game rules must be displayed to the participant and games must operate in accordance with them; the RTP calculation is filed with the Michigan Gaming Control Board rather than mandated as an in-game figure.
Licence types
Fees
Change-watch
Lawful Internet Gaming Act (PA 152) and Lawful Sports Betting Act (PA 149) enacted
Online casino and online sports betting launched 22 January 2021
Sources (3)
Not legal or tax advice. This is a teaching summary; confirm every figure against the primary regulator (Michigan Gaming Control Board) before relying on it.