She feared that internet gambling would merely cannibalize money that would instead go to school funding. Gretchen Whitmer expressed the same concerns as the lottery, though. The bills again received bipartisan support and passed both houses. Iden reintroduced the Lawful Internet Gaming Act and Sports Betting Act in 2019. However, Snyder surprisingly rejected the bills as one of his last acts in office. Rick Snyder to sign them into effect afterward. The bills passed both houses in 2018 with little trouble. He largely achieved this goal when the commercial and tribal casinos agreed with both pieces of legislation. Brandt Iden drafted the Lawful Internet Gaming Act (HB 4311) and Lawful Sports Betting Act (HB 4916) in hopes of appeasing all sides. They wanted to take advantage of the lucrative betting market that was sure to follow. Suddenly, MI lawmakers became much more interested in legalizing online gambling. May marks the point when the Supreme Court repealed PASPA-a long-time federal ban on sports betting. The state legislature made no serious efforts to legalize internet gambling until May 2018. Lotteries generate roughly $1 billion for the MI school fund annually. However, the state’s tribal casinos clashed with lawmakers over commercial casinos’ inclusion.Īdditionally, the Michigan Lottery expressed fears that more gambling would cannibalize their lucrative industry. The push for legal MI online gambling started in 2015.

Michigan online gambling tax