Michigan online gambling legislation is being opposed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer is at odds with the bill’s sponsor over her belief that an online gaming market would cannibalize the state’s online and retail lottery revenues, draining money from school programs. “I’ve said very clearly, over and over again, that protecting the School Aid Fund, ensuring that we get every dollar back into the education of our kids is my top priority,” Whitmer told Michigan Radio this week. “So I’m going to have a hard time supporting anything that doesn’t protect that goal.” In 2018, having united Michigan’s disparate…

Former State Senator Mike Kowall has predicted Michigan online gambling will be legalized in the state, despite outgoing governor Rick Snyder vetoing legislation for each vertical. Snyder refused to sign the gaming bills which were passed by the Michigan House and Senate during the final legislative session of 2018. However, Republican Kowall, who served as Michigan Senate Majority Leader until this earlier month, and sponsored the versions of Brandt Iden’s House Bills in the legislative chamber, says despite this opposition, he fully expects legislation to pass sooner rather than later. In an opinion piece for The Detroit News, Kowall said…

Michigan online gambling seemed close in as the final few hours ticked off the 2018 legislative clock. Lawmakers in the state passed a bill that would legalize Internet gambling within the state, and now only a signature stands in the way of the 5th state with regulated online gambling. The proposal from Rep. Brandt Iden was among the dozens and dozens of bills considered during the final scheduled session on Thursday. Facing a seemingly endless to-do list, the process spilled over into a bonus Friday of lawmaking. The “lawful internet gaming act” cleared one Senate committee and both chambers over…

Michigan online gambling may finally be close to the finish line, according to the author of a set of bills calling for an Internet-focused overhaul of the state’s gambling industry. Rep. Brandt Iden’s Lawful Internet Gaming Act was approved in the House in June. The piece now awaits vote in the Senate and if it gains the necessary traction in the upper chamber of the Michigan Legislature, it will allow the state’s three commercial and 20-plus tribal casinos to offer online casino games. The bill needs to be voted by the Senate by December 20 when the legislative session is…

The state of Michigan is poised to be the center of attention for online gaming stakeholders in the United States come the start of the 2018 political season. Just before lawmakers concluded business for 2017, the Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee passed a series of bills that would legalize gambling on the internet within the state. Rep. Brandt Idena, the bills’ sponsor and Chair of the Regulatory Reform Committee, is selling the proposal to fellow lawmakers as a way to generate much needed revenue for the state, while at the same time, allowing citizens to engage in activities that some…

A Michigan online gambling bill that advanced on Wednesday now has a sports betting provision in it. Lawmakers in the state advanced Rep. Brandt Iden’s bill that would legalize online casinos and poker in the state. The bill was approved in a hearing by the House Regulatory Reform Committee, which Iden chairs. The most recent version of H 4926 contains new language regarding online sports wagering. The potential for sports wagering is becoming real for states like Michigan, as New Jersey is challenging the ban on single-game wagering in the US Supreme Court. A win for the state in the…