Sports betting enthusiasts in Michigan now only need to wait for a few days before online gambling and athletic wagering is officially launched in the state.

Joint Committee decides the rules

The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules announced on Tuesday that it has waived the mandatory 15 session-day waiting period for approving the final Michigan online sports betting rules in the state. The bipartisan group of lawmakers includes members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Now, the Michigan Gaming Control Board expects to be able to launch online gaming in the state by early 2021.

The MGCB had earlier planned to launch the market before the end of 2020. MGCB executive director Richard Kalm said on Friday that the bettors will have to wait for another six weeks. The Kalm noted that operators like FanDuel and DraftKings will still need to get their final licensing approval. This would only be possible after the Joint Committee’s meeting on Tuesday. The firms need to submit approval letters from independent test labs to show that each one meets the technical requirements of the state before they are licensed.

Speeding up the process

The JCAR’s decision to waive off the 15-day waiting period will help in expediting the licensing process. If the committee had not waived the limit off, the officials will have to resubmit the rules in January with a new lineup of lawmakers who entered the legislature via November elections. This would have delayed the launch of the Michigan betting market till February Super Bowl February. Kalm noted that some of the operators will be able to go live in early January.

Kalm noted,

“The whole thing is going to be really dependent on the paperwork they’re submitting. We’re going to give them provisional licenses as soon as we get all the paperwork and then finish our background investigations.”

The Board will take some time to ensure that the operators comply with their regulations. The regulator suggests that licensing will only be done when the firms are in compliance with state laws. Online wagering will only be available when at least one each of the 23 tribal casinos and three commercial casinos earn their operator licenses.