Michigan is very close to legalizing sports betting in the state. Brandt Iden, a Representative of the state, submitted a proposal recently which was passed by the house committee of the state. He hopes that the proposal will move forward and that the Governor of the state, Gretchen Whitmer, will sign it by the end of 2019.
Iden introduced the bill recently, and it was passed out of committee on Tuesday. The bill allows organized betting on sports both in online sportsbooks and inside of casinos which are currently located in the state of Michigan.
This is pretty much the way most of the other states did it when it comes to legalizing sports betting. In other words, Michigan is doing great work and is on a good path to become yet another state to allow this type of gambling.
According to Iden, the sports betting industry would be beneficial for the revenue of the state, which is now needed more than ever.
In fact, Iden commented on the current state of affairs and his idea to bring sports betting to Michigan. He said that there is already sports betting going on in Michigan and that there are people who like to play this type of game.
By introducing organized betting on sports, bettors would be protected, and the state would definitely benefit from the taxes.
Iden has been a long-time supporter of legalizing all kinds of gambling activities in the state of Michigan. He has been advocating gambling expansion there for quite a while, but he was definitely not as successful as this time.
In fact, in the last session, he proposed two bills that aimed to legalize fantasy sports betting and online gambling. Three casinos in Detroit and tribal gaming venues were determined to offer these types of activities, but it was all in vain.
Iden stumbled upon the Governor of Michigan who was different back then, Rick Snyder.
Snyder wasn’t really a fan of Iden’s ideas when it comes to gambling expansion, so he decided not to put his signature on the bills that Iden had proposed. Michigan already has a developed state lottery, and the main concern that Snyder had was that the lottery would suffer from other gambling activities, including the ones proposed by Iden.
Same As The Old Boss?
However, Snyder is not governor anymore, and Iden now has high hopes with Whitmer in office. He hopes that the new governor will sign the proposed bill for sports betting.
Moreover, he hopes that it will all happen before February 2020. The reason why that date is considered a deadline is that there that the Super Bowl will be in February.
Now, we all know how much people love the Super Bowl, and they enjoy betting on the NFL more than anything else. Therefore, placing bets on the Super Bowl would be an instant boost for the sports betting industry in Michigan.
Ever since the PASPA ban was lifted, states in the US started slowly introducing sports betting activities to their residents. Before the ban, the only state where some kind of limited sports betting was available was Nevada.
However, they are now joined by other states, with New Jersey being the most popular at the moment. New Jersey was first to legalize the activity almost immediately after the ban was lifted.
Other states where you can legally place bets on sports either online or in land-based casinos are Delaware, Mississippi, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Arkansas, New York, Iowa, and Indiana. If you happen to be in one of these states, you can check out your options right away!
