Michigan Sports Betting – Best Michigan Online Sportsbook Sites 2021

As of January 22, 2021 sports betting is now legal and live in Michigan, both online and at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. After years of efforts, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a new bill into law in December 2019 — The Lawful Sports Betting Act — paving the way for legalized sports betting in the Wolverine State. In this guide we’ll offer a complete breakdown of the state’s in-person and online sports betting options.

MI Online Sportsbook New Customer Offers

Michigan sports betting: Everywhere you can play

Legalized online and mobile sports betting was given the green light in December 2019, and officially went live on January 22, 2021. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) worked hard to put into place the rules and regulations that each operator must follow.

The Michigan sports betting market is a crowded one – and this happened quickly. Below you will find a list of confirmed partnerships in the state.

BetMGM

• License Partner: MGM Grand Detroit
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

MGM owns and operates the MGM Grand Detroit, which will serve as the site’s MI base camp. BetMGM has been all over the online sports betting scene in the United States and is was among the first wave to get online in Michigan. The company’s elite mobile app, powered by ROAR Digital tech (a hybrid of MGM Resorts International and GVC Holdings), is a stellar product that offers a user friendly layout, valuable promotions, and competitive pricing.

FanDuel Sportsbook

• License Partner: MotorCity Casino
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

FanDuel Sportsbook secured its access to the Great Lakes State through an agreement with the MotorCity Casino. The company’s ability to launch a high-quality sportsbook has been proven time and time again in each state that has approved legal betting. FanDuel also runs a two-story retail sportsbook on site at the MotorCity Casino, making it one of the state’s premier in-person destinations. FanDuel Sportsbook is known for offering exceptional pricing, largely due to a constant onslaught of bonuses and boosts.

DraftKings Sportsbook

• License Partner: Bay Mills Indian Community
• Affiliated Casinos: Bay Mills Resort & Casino
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

DraftKings is the “King” of sports betting in the United States. The company’s footprint is vast, accepting bets across the country from New Jersey, to Iowa, to Colorado (and plenty of places in-between!). After reaching a deal to work with the Bay Mills Indian Community, DraftKings was able to be one of the first to go live in the Wolverine State.

DraftKings offers a great mobile betting experiences that gels well with the company’s well known Daily Fantasy Sports products. DK has already agreed to a partnership with the Detroit Pistons to serve as an official betting partner of the NBA franchise, which will make one of the state’s most visible brands even more prominent.

BetRivers

• License Partner: Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
• Affiliated Casino: Little River Casino and Resort
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

Little River, meet BetRivers. Rush Street Interactive, one of the biggest names in U.S. online sports betting, is flowing to Michigan with BetRivers after joining forces with the aptly named Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and their Little River Casino Resort. BetRivers is no stranger to midwestern success, already having piloted successful online sports betting launches in both Illinois and Indiana. It will be a strong contender for online gaming business, and a competitor in retail spaces.

FOX Bet

• License Partner: Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
• Affiliated Casinos: Odawa Casino Resprt, Odawa Casino Mackinaw City
• Online Launch: Early 2021 (estimate)

FOX Bet is operated by The Stars Group (now a part of Flutter Entertainment), and has joined forces with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Gaming Authority to bring iGaming to MI. This partnership gives FOX Bet access to Michigan via a “skin agreement.” In addition to sports betting, online casino and online poker have also been legalized in Michigan. The Stars Group has all three verticals covered within its portfolio through FOX Bet, StarsCasino, and PokerStars.

Parx Casino

• License Partner: Gun Lake Tribe / Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians
• Affiliated Casino: Gun Lake Casino
• Online Launch: Early 2021 (estimate)

Parx Casino has inked a deal with the Gun lake Tribe to bring sports betting, retail and online, to the Gun Lake Casino in Wayland. The venue’s Stage 131 Sportsbook & Lounge will cover brick-and-mortar sports betting before the casino eventually rolls out a mobile sports and casino app for use throughout the state.

Known in gambling circles throughout the east coast for its popular Pennsylvania property, expansion to Michigan will represent a big growth opportunity for Parx Sportsbook.

Barstool Sportsbook

• License Partner: Greektown Casino
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

In early 2020 Penn National Gaming purchased a substantial stake in Barstool Sports with hopes of using it as one of the company’s primary iGaming brands. Penn National Gaming operates the Greektown Casino Hotel in Detroit, granting iGaming licensing access to MI. Barstool Sportsbook is already live and accepting bets in states like Pennsylvania, and with founder Dave Portnoy’s ties to the University of Michigan – the brand is already making a splash in Michigan.

PointsBet

• License Partner: Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
• Affiliated Casino: Northern Waters Casino Resort
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

PointsBet has a partnership in place with the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians which will cover the next 20 years. The tribe owns and operates Northern Waters Casino Resort in Watersmeet, which provides PointsBet with access to the state’s sports betting market and is also the location for the incoming PointsBet brick-and-mortar sportsbook.

The PointsBet brand has made a name for itself by offering fun, exciting bet types including PointsBetting. Exclusive to the platform, PointsBetting offers big swings, but is a ton of fun. Ultimately it keeps bettors invested in the action until the final play.

William Hill

• License Partner: Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
• Affiliated Casino: Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel, Leelanau Sands Casino
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

William Hill is working with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for Michigan online sports betting. The tribe owns and operates multiple casino venues in the state — the Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown, the Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel in Williamsburg, and the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme Township.

William Hill is a globally recognized sportsbook. Accepting bets since the 1930s, the brand has retail betting shops, kiosks, and sportsbooks throughout the world on top of its significant online presence. In the early days of regulated betting in the United States William Hill has been as active as any operator in securing its piece of the pie.

WynnBET

• License Partner: Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
• Affiliated Casinos: Kewadin Casino Christmas, Kewadin Casino Hessel, Kewadin Casino Manistique, Kewadin Casino Sault Saint Marie, Kewadin Casino St. Ignace
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

Piggybacking on the Wynn’s known and respected brick-and-mortar brand, WynnBET ventures to Michigan through a deal with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The tribe has a significant presence throughout the state’s Upper Peninsula with five separate retail casinos. New to iGaming, Wynn has an easy to use sports betting mobile app powered by leading tech provider GAN.

Golden Nugget Sportsbook

• License Partner: Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
• Affiliated Casinos: Ojibwa Casino Baraga, Ojibwa Casino Marquette
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

Golden Nugget, the famous B+M giant with a big presence from Las Vegas to A.C., has successfully ported their enormously successful online sports betting and casino software to the state of Michigan. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is providing licensing access through its Ojibwa Casinos.

Twinspires (formerly BetAmerica)

• License Partner: Hannahville Indian Community
• Affiliated Casino: Island Resort & Casino
• Online Launch: January 22, 2021

The Hannahville Indian Community has opened the door for Twinspires to enter the Michigan iGaming market. The popular online sportsbook, owned and operated by Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), now offers quality action to bettors across the state after debuting on January 22, 2021. The Island Resort & Casino is also home to a BetAmerica themed retail sportsbook at its Harris, MI location. Located just a few hours from Green Bay, the home of the Packers, it has already become a destination for NFL fans throughout the region.

Who is next in line?

On top of the aforementioned sportsbooks, there’s room for more. Contestants to take the final few spots in the busy Michigan sports betting pool include:

• 888sport
• Bet365
• Caesars
• theScore Bet
• Unibet

Which retail sportsbooks are available in Michigan?

Retail sportsbooks are now available throughout Michigan. The state’s three Detroit-based commercial casinos were the first to market, accepting legal bets in March 2020. Following a small delay due to global ongoings, a long list of tribal casinos have since followed. In-person bets are now accepted every day, all across the state of Michigan – from the Upper Peninsula to Detroit. Top options include:

MGM Grand Detroit

MGM Grand Detroit opened in July 1999. It is a luxury casino resort located in Detroit and opened its doors to sports bettors on March 11, 2020. The venue has 100,000 square feet of gaming space and more than 400 hotel rooms. The owner of MGM Grand Detroit is MGM Resorts.

Greektown Casino Hotel

Greektown Casino Hotel opened in November 2000. Similar to MGM Grand Detroit, the venue boasts 100,000 square feet of gaming space and 400 hotel rooms. Greektown Casino Hotel has a retail sportsbook that opened on March 11, 2020. Greektown Casino Hotel is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Penn National Gaming.

MotorCity Casino Hotel

Opened in December 1999 by Mandalay Resort Group, MotorCity Casino Hotel is a casino venue located in Detroit that claims 100,000 square feet of gaming space, 400 hotel rooms, and roughly 2,800 slot machines. The venue was later purchased by IH Gaming and the casino is currently partnered with FanDuel Sportsbook on sports betting. MotorCity Casino Hotel opened its sportsbook on March 12, 2020.

Other potential land-based sportsbook locations

Each of Michigan’s 26 casinos are eligible to offer brick-and-mortar sports betting. Refer to the table above on this page for a full breakdown of each retail casino, the status of its in-person sportsbook, and its online partner.

Minimum age to bet on sports in Michigan

The minimum age to bet on sports in Michigan is 21 years old. This legal age limit applies to all sports betting including both retail and online.

When signing up for an online or mobile sports betting account, age verification will take place immediately. Retail sportsbooks can also require in-person age verification for anyone placing bets. A valid form of identification will be required for age verification.

Location requirements

As is the case in other states with legal online and mobile sports betting, Michigan requires sports bettors to be physically located within state boundaries in order to place a wager. Location will be determined and verified using geolocation software and the bettor’s online or mobile device.

Retail sports betting is available at brick-and-mortar locations throughout the state. As you can imagine, you must physically be present at one of the state’s land-based sportsbook venues in order to place a bet.

How geolocation works

Geolocation may sound complicated, but it’s really not. If you are going to be betting on a computer, like a laptop or desktop PC, each sportsbook will require you to quickly download a small piece of software through an automatic prompt. Once its on, the plugin will send your location over to the sportsbook to confirm you are in the state of Michigan.

If you’re using a mobile app, you’re in luck. The app will ask for permission to use the device’s internal GPS chip. Once you’ve given the OK, it can automatically pick out your location and approve you for betting in just a single seamless step. If you don’t give the book access to your location services, you can’t bet.

Benefits of legal online sports betting

Regulation & safety

Safety and security are paramount benefits of legal online sports betting. Gambling with a legal sports betting site in Michigan will put your mind at ease, knowing that you are protected by state regulations. Gone are the days of needing to deal with unregulated and unsafe offshore sports betting sites.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) is the governing regulatory body in charge of overseeing the state’s legal online sports betting sites. The MGCB has put together comprehensive regulations that aim to protect you, the consumer, and provide you with the betting environment you deserve.

Easy & efficient banking

Offshore, illegal sportsbooks cannot accept money from U.S. banks, but legal, regulated sports betting sites can. Regulated banking options are safer, faster, and more efficient.

Most regulated online sportsbooks offer a variety of deposit and withdrawal choices. Checking accounts, PayPal, bank transfer, electronic checks, skrill, PayNearMe, and cash at a brick-and-mortar casino location are all banking options utilized by the regulated sports betting industry. Michigan will include a combination of these options for its online sports betting. While each site will have a different cashier, each will have plenty of easy to use methods.

Accessible mobile offerings

Mobile is the way of the world these days, and sports bettors will no longer be required to walk to a betting window in a retail sportsbook to place a wager. Mobile and online sports betting provides a great amount of accessibility for sports bettors. In Michigan, sports bettors can register online for legal mobile/online sportsbooks. Bettors only need to be of age (21+) and located within state boundaries in order to place a bet through their online or mobile device.

Michigan sports betting FAQ

Michigan sports betting law and framework

Signed into law in December 2019, HB 4916 authorized legal sports betting through retail, mobile, and online operations.

Key details of the legislation:

• Minimum age of 21 to sports bet
• 8.4% tax rate on a sportsbook’s adjusted gross revenue
• Three commercial casinos located in Detroit pay an additional 1.25% tax to the city
• State tax revenue goes to School Aid Fund and First Responder Presumed Coverage Fund
• $50,000 application fee
• $100,000 license fee
• $50,000 annual renewal fee
• Licensed commercial casinos and federally recognized tribal casinos can apply for licenses
• Operators are allowed one skin

History of Michigan sports betting

Getting to where it is today has not been an easy road for Michigan. The state had several roadblocks and obstacles along the way, but several years of legislative effort finally came through in December 2019.

The push to get legal sports betting in Michigan started in 2015 with Rep. Robert Kosowski, but with federal law prohibiting sports betting outside Nevada at the time, the idea didn’t gain much traction. Despite not generating much momentum in 2015, Kosowski followed up each of the following two years. With every new push, adjustments to the bill had been made, but the ultimate goal of legalizing sports betting and online wagering remained.

Rep. Brandt Iden got involved in 2017, suggesting that if federal law allowed states to legalize sports betting, then Michigan should be ready to move forward. With others agreeing, HB 4926 was passed through the Committee on Regulatory Reform in late 2017.

In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Professional & Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), paving the way for states to offer legalized sports betting on their own. Legislation for sports betting in Michigan hit the governor’s desk in December 2018, but outgoing Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed the bill and left it to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was assuming office.

Although Whitmer had her concerns, she worked on a new version of the legislation until it was to her liking. Once the bill passed the state’s two chambers, it headed to her desk in December 2019, one year after Snyder’s veto spoiled Michigan’s sports betting efforts. Whitmer signed the bill into law and legal sports betting was set in Michigan for 2020.