In December 2019, Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into a bill that paved the way for both online and retail sports betting in the state. Since then, there has been a lot of excitement regarding the entry of more betting options in the state. The industry officially kicked off in March and just when it seemed like everything was slowing down, even more developments have begun to crop up.
Most recently, renowned gaming operator Four Winds Casino has launched a total of three new sports betting facilities at three of its properties across the state. This now gives the public the opportunity to place bets on, among other things, American football, basketball, and auto racing. The three properties where all of this action will be going down are New Buffalo, Dowagiac, and Hartford.
“There’s a huge audience of folks that like to place a bet on a ball game. Whatever you like, there’s so many different sports. So, it’s one more add for us.”
Four Winds COO Frank Freedman.
Even though the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are bound to have an impact on the launch especially because most major American sports leagues are were shut down, the casino’s management is pretty confident that this could be a good start for them. There are a few sporting activities such as European Leagues, auto racing, and horse racing that are currently underway and these are definitely great markets.
Enter Online Sports Betting
Retail sports betting is already going on in Michigan but there is no doubt that anticipation is slowly building up for online sports betting options that are yet to arrive in the state. The wait just got a little shorter since earlier this month the Michigan Gaming Control Board announced that it had started accepting application for online sports betting licenses.
The state’s tribal and commercial casinos are all eligible for the licenses with the qualifying candidates set to go throw some investigations. They have all been advised to submit the necessary paperwork as soon as possible to make room for the investigations. Any approved operator will also be collaborating with the gaming control board in order to figure out issues related to “internal controls, technical standards, lab certifications, and other requirements.”
Washington Next in Line
The state of Washington legalized in-person retail sports betting in March but there have been some delays. First came complications pertaining to loopholes in the law’s languages and then there was the COVID-19 pandemic which also caused quite a bit of havoc.
Even so, things seem to be getting back on track and Washington is finally ready to proceed with its plans to launch retail sports betting at the qualifying gambling facilities. It will, of course, take a bit of time for every issue to be ironed out but there is a lot of optimism with regards to the imminent launch of the state’s very lucrative sports betting industry.