Michigan’s Sportsbook Launches Before March Madness

Michigan’s Sportsbook Launches Before March Madness

Sportsbooks in the state of Michigan are gearing up for the beginning of March Madness. Betting at physical locations will now be possible but online betting will be live in 2021.

Just in time for March Madness

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament will begin on March 17 and a spokesperson for the state regulator confirmed on Tuesday that sportsbooks will be live on time to accept bets. Interestingly, the Michigan Gaming Control Board has not set a deadline for starting live operations in the state yet.

Michigan’s Sportsbook Launches Before March Madness

Betting is expected to begin at the three commercial casinos in the city of Detroit. This will be important for the state’s sports betting industry as March Madness is the second biggest sporting event after the Super Bowl, which the state has already missed this year. Americans place wagers of around $8 billion during the event and most states that have legalized betting in the past few months are trying to capitalize on the event to improve their revenues.

Michigan is one of the states in the race for March Madness revenue. The state’s lawmakers and Michigan Gaming Control Board have worked extensively since the signing of the sports betting legalization bill to ensure that they get their operations ready in time.

Online bets unavailable right now

While residents and visitors in Michigan will be able to place their bets in casinos, they will have to wait a little longer to do the same online. The regulatory is busy creating a framework for online sports betting in the state, which means that the operations may not start before 2021. In the meanwhile, users can visit 24 tribal casinos run by the 12 recognized Indian tribes of the state.

These tribal casinos are regulated independently and don’t have to depend on the state Gaming Control Board to run their operations. Some of these casinos have already partnered with gaming operators. British operator William Hill recently signed a partnership with the Grand Traverse Bank of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Canada’s The Stars Group and Australian operator PointsBet have also entered new partnerships with the Little Traverse Bay Bans of Odawa Indians and the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians respectively. Note that these casinos may have to follow the regulator’s guidance for providing an online sports betting facility.

Richard Kalm, the CEO OF Michigan Gaming Control Board said that their online betting regulatory framework is 30% ready.

About sherlock

Sherlock Gomes loves to write and express his views on anything related to Gaming, Gambling, & Casino. He has been covering Gaming for more than two years now.