The sports betting boom is sweeping across America and Michigan have become one of the latest states to regulate and license sports betting.
As a vocation, sports betting became legal in Michigan at the back end of 2019 and has continued to evolve in stature ever since.
The capital of the ‘Wolverine State’ is Detroit and all licensed sports betting operations are based in the ‘Motor City’ – an area that has been gentrified significantly over the past 30 years.
Whilst the initial introduction of sports betting in Michigan was confined to in-store/retail betting only, the online sports offering in the state has launched in January 2021 and the surge in popularity amongst sports punters is beginning to manifest.
With an appetite for sports betting across the state, which is littered with basketball, ice-hockey, and college football teams – sports gambling in Michigan appears to be on a very upward trend.
As a swing state in American politics, Michigan has always been a real barometer for the regular American voter and the decision to legalise sports betting in the state in 2019 was representative of how sportsbook gambling is viewed across America.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer was the official that signed off the legalisation of sports betting in Michigan, under ruling HB 4307, presenting businesses with the opportunity to offer sports gambling to customers.
The initial laws set out at the end of 2019, gave 4 existing casinos (3 in Detroit and one in Grand Rapids) the power to offer sports betting markets as part of their operations. By early 2020, there were signs that this trend was starting to take off in the state, with over 15 new casinos across the Wolverine State entering the planning stages. COVID 19 put a temporary halt to daily life in Michigan and whilst the in-store casino market has been affected by that, the infrastructure looks to be in place to see the sports betting industry grow in the future.
As was set out by Governor Whitmer’s initial ruling, online betting came into public consciousness at the start of 2021 in Michigan and whilst it is still in its primitive stages, it looks to be a popular vocation for the sports fans and punters of Michigan.
As mentioned, the advent of online sports betting in Michigan has been relatively recent, with punters only able to access sportsbook markets online since January 2021.
There are a plethora of regulations that punters and licensees must abide by in the provision of online sports betting in Michigan:
With each American state having a different set of rules and regulations attached to sports betting, it can become tricky for punters to establish who can and can’t bet on sport in a given state.
Michigan’s sports betting rules are relatively new and consequently accommodate for the needs and wants of regular punters across the state.
Punters must be at least 21 years of age to legally place a sports bet in Michigan and all of the major in-store and online sports betting companies require verification and identification before a new customer can start betting with their company.
The geolocation technology used by Michigan gambling regulators is designed to pinpoint the exact location of punters when betting and in order to adhere to the rules set out by the Wolverine State, the gambler must be physically located within Michigan state lines in order to be operating under the local regulations.
Punters do not however need to be a resident of Michigan in order to bet there, the regulations work on the physical location of the gambler at the time a bet was placed.
Michigan’s unique location close to the Canadian border entices players from Ontario and Windsor to make the short hop across the border, to access both in-store betting casinos/sportsbooks, as well as the newly formed online sports betting operation.
As the online betting industry begins to establish itself in Michigan, there are a plethora of sports betting sites available for punters to access in the state.
All of the below sites adhere to local, Michigan state regulations and look to offer their players a range of sports betting markets and betting opportunities:
Finding the ideal bookmaker can be difficult for some punters but with a range of trustworthy online sportsbooks already available for punters in Michigan, the offering is sure to go from strength to strength over the next few years.
Michigan is a sporting hotbed in America and there are a wealth of sporting institutions for punters to get their teeth into.
American staples such as the NFL and College Football continue to monopolise the sports betting markets in the state. Whilst the Detroit Lions continue to scrap away without much success in the NFL, Michigan have two teams in the Big 10 (University of Michigan and Michigan State University) both of which are two of the most prominent sporting collegiate institutions across America.
Detroit also hold their own within the NBA (Detroit Pistons), the MLB (Detroit Tigers) and the NHL (Detroit Red Wings), making it one of the diverse sporting cities in the USA.
A range of sports betting markets are offered across all four of the main sports in America and the floor of Michigan’s in-person casinos is often a memorable place to be as the action is unfolding.
The impact of sportsbook betting across Michigan is being felt on a broader scale too, as the number of sporting markets available to punters in the state continues to evolve.
Betting staples such as tennis, golf and horse racing can all be accessed through online and in-person sports betting operations in Michigan, as the state looks to cater for the gambling needs of every sports betting enthusiast.
More niche offerings such as motor sports, UFC/MMA and Esports are also popping up amongst Michigan’s sportsbooks, as the state looks to fully embrace the online sports betting revolution.
American sportsbooks are regulated by each state’s laws as to what type of punts gamblers can place on a given sporting event.
Michigan have broken the mould somewhat in their regulations, as each price/bet that is offered to customers must use official league/competition data in the grading of live wagers. Meaning that sportsbooks don’t have final say on the prices they give out to customers, they are all pre-regulated.
The impact of this works both ways, in that it protects the punter in the event they win a bet, they will be paid what is rightfully theirs under the algorithm set out by the sportsbook regulators. Furthermore, it protects the casino/company offering the odds as they won’t have to pay out any unexpected extra-winnings.
Punters are divided on the effectiveness of this regulation but with sports betting a fresh, new vocation in Michigan, these measures have been implemented to protect all parties from the outset.
Whilst there are restrictions on the odds offered, Michigan’s sports betting laws don’t prohibit any particular type of sports betting and look to cater for the needs of every punter in the state.
Straight/single-game bets continue to be the most popular wager placed across all sports, as punters look to correctly predict the outcome of a chosen game.
Moneyline and spread bets are also very popular across American sports and the in-play markets have boomed online as a result since their launch in Michigan at the start of 2021.
Parlays and accumulators offer low risk, high reward options for punters and they are becoming increasingly popular with Michigan gamblers within the online sphere, as a small stake can yield a substantial amount of money returned, if things go your way!
The advent of live betting has been the catalyst to online sports betting becoming the worldwide phenomenon it has over the last decade and the betting institutions in Michigan have embraced the offering. In-play bets across a range of score lines/results and fixtures are instantly accessible through online betting sites in Michigan – allowing players to bet on their chosen field, as the action is unfolding.
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