Sports betting continues to gain ground in the United States as lawmakers across the nation approve legislation to legalize and regulate the industry. Michigan was one of the latest states to approve the option and casinos are preparing to offer retail services starting this week. The three commercial casinos located in Detroit will be launching services starting at 1 p.m. on March 11th once the final approval is given by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Working Quickly
The staff of the State Gaming Control Board had less than three months to prepare to approve operators for retail sports betting. According to executive director of the Board, Richard S. Kalm, the group worked hard to make sure that services would be up and running by March Madness. Many steps had to be taken to prepare the industry for the new betting option, including providing licensing for operators who applied and were approved to offer services.
The suppliers and casinos helped as well by sharing information that was needed to authorize gaming. The new opportunity is high anticipated by both players and the operators the Kalm is hopeful that players will enjoy it and see benefits from the additional revenues provided.
The Board is only overseeing the sports betting services of the commercial casinos in the state. The tribal casinos are in charge of their own operations. It is expected that the tribal venues will announce the launch of service as they begin to offer services individually.
Online Sports Betting Coming Next Year
While retail sports betting will launch this week, it will still be some time before players have access to online gaming options. The Gaming Control Board is still working on developing the rules for the industry as well as for online casino gaming and fantasy sports.
This process will take time and the Board is not expected to be done with the rule-making process until next year. It is disappointing to find that the online element will not be released for many months. When it comes to sports betting, players tend to want to wager online more so than in a gaming venue. Considering that the commercial casinos are only located in Detroit, the access will be limited to those nearby or those traveling to the region.
Michigan is one of only a small number of states that has approved online gambling. Pennsylvania launched their industry last summer and the hope was the Michigan would get started quickly as well. Now, players will have to wait a long time before another state joins Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware in offering online casino and/or poker gaming.
We will keep a sharp eye out on the new sports betting industry in Michigan and provide details as to how well the Detroit venues fare when it comes to offering services. Hopefully, players will show interest and the new industry will provide additional revenues for the state which will certainly help to fill coffers.
