History of gambling in Michigan
Michigan has over 22 casinos with thousands of gaming machines. These casinos are located across Michigan, but popular ones are in Detroit, Michigan's largest city. However, gambling in Michigan was introduced in 1933 when horse track racing was made legal by the Racing Act of 1933.
With the Gaming Control and Revenue Act of 1966, casinos have been permitted to operate in Michigan. In 1972, the Lottery Act made state lotteries legitimate. The first lottery draw took place in November 1972. Lottery draws on bingo, and raffles were authorized in 1972 by the Act of Charitable Gaming. The first casino was established in Michigan and the United States in 1984. Michigan lotteries became rampant in 1996 and were included in a game involving many US states. This marked the start of ticket purchases in Michigan.
The law-making body initially passed the Michigan gaming law, making Michigan online gambling illegal in 1999. However, the gaming regulation was dismissed in 2000 through the Public Act 185 of the Michigan legislature, allowing individuals to gamble. In November 2000, this Act gave birth to Michigan's second house casino.
Unlicensed casinos are unauthorized under Section 432 of the Michigan Statutes. Although there is no written law prohibiting gamblers from participating in illegal sites, there are penalties for doing so in MI.
Michigan has a long gambling history, as there are now numerous land casinos in Detroit. In addition, race betting, lottery tickets, and DFS betting are now widely available across Michigan.
Gov. Rick Snyder introduced the first legislative proposal to allow online lottery sales. However, the proposal was defeated in the house. In 2014, Michigan's online lottery was launched, and tickets to play could be purchased. The purchasable tickets are as follows:
- Instant Keno
- Cashword
- Pot O' Gold
In 2016, Senator Mike Kowall sponsored a bill for the Senate legislative house. However, it was debunked before reaching the final stage. The bill's dismissal raised the need for legislators to respond to the citizens' inquiry: "When does Michigan online gambling start?". Subsequent legislative proposals suggested by Sen. Wayne Schmidt and Curtis Hertel to make online gambling legal were rather disapproved by the house upon deliberation.
However, in 2017 the sponsorship of legislation authorizing gambling by Brandt Ide. This law proposal was passed by the house in 2017 and was changed into law by the Senate in 2018. Michigan allows all types of gambling games as of 2022