Illegal Gambling Crackdown in Michigan for 2022

Illegal Gambling Education Effort

Illegal gambling operations will be targets by authorities in Michigan. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) along with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) will be working on cracking down on illegal gaming in 2022. The two Michigan agencies will be working together to educate the public and businesses on illegal gaming. The agencies will especially work with businesses such as bars and others that hold liquor licenses. The team wants to help businesses understand and identify machines that are illegal within the state. By cooperating with MLCC, those with liquor licenses will be provided with the opportunity to get rid of these illegal machines or face consequences. These consequences could include getting fines, losing their liquor licenses, or even felony and misdemeanor charges.

Visit our selection of legal online gambling casinos.

According to the MGCB executive director, Henry Williams, “Illegal gambling can lead to other, more serious crimes that compromise safety in Michigan communities.” He also stated that “Citizens who use these unregulated machines also have little recourse if they feel cheated. They can’t file a formal dispute with an unregulated operator. Therefore, they can ask our agency to review the outcome as they can when participating in licensed, legal gaming.”

As the Michigan Gaming Control Board and the Michigan Liquor Control Commission begin their relationship together in 2022, the goal is to educate and help the public and businesses to clearly understand why illegal gaming is dangerous to the citizens of Michigan.

Gambling and Liquor Licenses

Encouraging compliance and removing these illegal machines from businesses is the primary goal. According to Pat Gagliardi, the MLCC Chair,

“Liquor licensees who allow illegal gambling and who fail to remove gambling devices used for illegal gaming from their businesses can face violations from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.”

MGCB 2022

In addition, he said Illegal gambling is a serious violation. Penalties can include suspension, revocation of liquor licenses, and fines. If you possess a liquor license it is important to only utilize legal types forms of gambling. If not, you will violate the Commission’s rules and laws. 

Educational Materials Availbale to the Public and Busineseses

The two agencies want to provide educational materials to the MI public and businesses. This will help them understand what machines can be legal in the state. For example, there are unregulated gaming machines located in businesses now. In some cases, the business owners have been misled by the suppliers of the equipment. The business owners might be told that the equipment and machines are fine to use. In addition, they explain the reasons why the use is acceptable. Michigan agencies have fact sheets so dealers and software suppliers do not mislead and take advantage of businesses. The educational campaign helps businesses understand that the law requires all gambling activities to be legitimate. This means that machines for gambling are run within and by state-licensed casinos.

Michigan Gambling Laws are to Protect Consumers

According to Michigan Attorney General Nessel,

“Laws that authorize and regulate gaming in the State of Michigan serve to protect consumers who wish to gamble.” She stated that “My office stands ready to assist the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and Michigan Gaming Control Board in this important enforcement effort. We will not hesitate to hold people accountable if they ignore this opportunity to voluntarily remove illegal gambling machines.”

MGCB 2022

The state offers a fact sheet about Michigan law. In addition, there is a separate fact sheet on unregulated machines that might be in businesses today.

MGCB director Williams said,

“With additional education, we hope business owners will do the right thing and not offer illegal gaming in their establishments.” In addition, he indicated that the State of Michigan will go after violators of the law.”

MGCB 2022

If you see or suspect illegal gambling, the Michigan Gaming Control Board asks that residents report the activity. They can call the agency’s anonymous tip phone line at 1-888-314-2682.


Michigan BetMGM January 2022 Online Casino Promotions

Michigan: BetMGM

Give a try on the “Perfect Blackjack Pro Bet & Get” Jan 3rd – 9th

To play Perfect Blackjack Pro just place $20 in wagers and receive $5 FREEPLAY®.

First, create a BetMGM account. Then sign in to your account between January 3 through January 9, 2022.  Next, choose to opt into the Perfect Blackjack Pro Bet & Get a promotion.  Then, wager $20 on Perfect Blackjack Pro and you will receive your $5 FREEPLAY®. Once you wager $20 on Perfect Blackjack Pro, the $5 FREEPLAY® will be credited automatically added to your BetMGM account. Remember, the $5 FREEPLAY® can only be used on Perfect Blackjack Pro. It is subject to a wagering requirement of 25x and is valid for one (1) day. Make sure to read BetMGM’s terms and conditions before [playing any games.

Next, you can try the Lions Bet & Get: Jan 7th – 9th

Get $5 FREEPLAY® on Detroit Lions Roulette by betting $10 on Detroit Lions Blackjack.

First, create a BetMGM account. Then, sign in to your new BetMGM Casino account. Make sure you sign in from January 7th – 9th (the promotion period). Go to the promotions page and simply opt into the Lions Bet & Get promotion.  Next, wager a minimum of $10 on Detroit Lions Blackjack. After you place your wager you will receive your $5 FREEPLAY®.  Remember, the $5 FREEPLAY® can only be played on Detroit Lions Roulette. It is also subject to a 25xwagering requirement. It is only valid for one (1) day so make sure you use it right away.


New Year’s Promotions for BetRivers Michigan Casinos and Sports Betting

New Years Promotions for BetRivers Michigan Casinos and Sports Betting

🎆🎰 King Cash’s New Year’s Bash Drawing! 🎰🎆

New Years’ games from BetRivers.com!

Players from Michigan that wager real money on qualifying Casino Games to earn iRush Loyalty Level Points between 12/26/2021 – 12/31/2021 will receive an entry into a randomized prize drawing! For every 50 iRush Loyalty Level Points earned on qualifying Casino Games in a calendar day will receive 1 entry into the drawing (up to 10 entries per day). Try other New Year’s promotions by visiting BetRiver’s website.

New Year’s Casino Games Prize Structure

1st Place Winner – $2,022 in 1x Bonus Money
2nd-32nd Place Winners – $200 in 1x Bonus Money
33rd-122nd Place Winners – $100 in 1x Bonus Money
123rd-222nd Place Winners – $50 in 1x Bonus Money

🎁 Holiday Log In and Win for New Year’s! 🎁

From 12/25/2021 – 1/01/2022, players will be eligible to receive a random prize, as identified in the below prize structure, when logging into their active BetRivers account. The prize will be issued at random upon account access and will be automatically awarded to the account. Players are eligible to receive up to one prize per day.

Prize Structure
$5 in 1X Bonus Money
Wheel Spin ($3-$20 in 1X Bonus Money)
Scratch Card ($10-$50 in 1X Bonus Money)
Bingo Token (Prizes include various Bonus Money Prizes)
Slot Tournament Entry (Prizes include Bonus Money, Wheel Spin, Additional Slot Tournament Entry)
$10 Sportsbook Free Bet
$20 Super Bowl Champion Free Bet
25% Live Profit Boost
25% Parlay Profit Boost

 🏈 College Football Playoff Bet-Get! 🏈

On 12/31/2021, players who bet $25-$49.99 on Cincinnati vs Alabama will receive a $10 Free Bet for Georgia vs Michigan. Players who bet $50 or more on Cincinnati vs Alabama will receive a $20 Free Bet for Georgia vs Michigan, (max 1 free bet earned).

Check out these other New Year’s eve celebrations in Michigan.


Michigan Charitable Gaming Association Gets Boost from MGCB

Michigan Charitable Gaming

Michigan Charitable Gaming Faces Difficult Times

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for Michigan charitable gaming to host effective fundraising promotions in 2020 and 2021. Because of this, the Michigan Gaming Control Board has come forward to assist the Michigan Charitable Gaming Association (MiCGA). During the pandemic, so many fundraising events were unable to be held or were poorly received. The MGCB and its director, Henry Williams along with Deputy Director Steinkamp want to help the fundraising efforts for Millionaire Party to ensure its continued success. This new announcement and initiative were recently discussed during November 10, 2021, Annual Meeting and Legislative Day for the MiCGA held in Lansing, Michigan.

“We want to partner with charities to ensure they are successful in raising funds so they can continue to support many positive efforts in their communities. ”

Henry Williams, Executive Director of the MGCB

The Director indicated that he and his agency wanted to understand and listen to the concerns of the charities. At the same time, being sure to keep up with the important conversations that are required so the charities in Michigan can be successful.

MGCB Changes Requirements to Help Michigan Charitable Gambling

During the annual meeting, Kurt Steinkamp talked about how the MGCB had changed its requirements for the Millionaire Party. He explained that charities now have an increased allowable cap on expenses that are supplier-related. The goal of this change is to get more suppliers involved and to join in on the Millionaire Party offerings. This move should help the charities with increased fundraising.

In addition, Steinkamp discussed the Michigan Gaming Control Boards shift to offer more assistance. These changes would include working on an online license application and additional opportunities for training. The MGCB intends to make these changes in the new year for charities.

Finally, during the MiCGA Legislative Day and Annual Meeting sharing by the charities took place. They shared details about the many causes that the charities are involved with. This information was heard and passed on to the leadership within the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

“Many charities praised MGCB staff for their customer service, which includes an open-door policy and willingness to walk new applicants through the qualification and application process.”

Henry Williams, Executive Director of the MGCB

Authors Note: It is possible that the availability of online gambling and sports betting might also be to blame for reduced charitable gambling.


Michigan Online Casinos Break State Records for Earnings in October

Michigan Online Casinos Break State Records

Michigan Online Casino Earnings Broke State Records for October 2021

Michigan online casino monetary earning records were beaten by commercial and tribal casinos in October. The gross internet and gaming receipts by online operators came in at $134 million. This number was over 6% more than what was reported in September.

A Michigan record was broken for October. The combined tribal and commercial casino operators gross receipts equaled 109.7 million dollars. This makes up the gross receipts for internet gaming in October. This number exceeds the gross receipts for September by over $102 million. The total receipts for online sports betting for October reached over $24 million. In addition, a total of 463.3 million dollars was brought in through online sports betting. This number was almost 31% higher than the total handle in September. Finally, the previous record was made last March with an amount of $359.5 million.

The total adjusted gross receipts and receipts for sports betting in October topped $103.6 million. When this number is broken down, online casino gaming brought in $98.9 million. In addition, 4.7 million dollars in receipts came from online sports betting.

Almost $21 million was raised in payments and taxes for the State of Michigan. Online gaming provided the greatest contribution for taxes and payments at $20.3 million while internet sports betting raised close to $553,000.

In the state of Michigan, tribal and commercial casinos contribute to the state differently for online sports betting receipts. The breakdown for commercial vs tribal casinos is as follows.

Michigan Online Casinos Commercial Operators:

70% of the 8.4 percent tax goes to the state and the city of Detroit received 30 percent.

Tribal Casinos: 8.4 percent of the gross receipts that are adjusted are paid to the state of Michigan.

The Detroit Michigan online casinos contributed 5.9 million dollars to the city for taxes and services for the municipality. The online gaming fees and taxes contributed were largest at 5.5 million dollars followed by over $354, 000 from fees and taxes assessed for sports betting online.

On the tribal casino side, contributions for 2.3 million dollars were raised. These payments are made to the governmental bodies that provide oversight for each tribe.

Receipts from the inception of online sports and casino gambling:

January 22, 2021, marked the beginning of online sports betting and internet casino gaming. Adjusted gross casino and sports betting adjusted gross receipts are listed below through October 31, 2021:

  • Online Casino Gaming- 97.5 million dollars
  • Internet Sports Betting- 65.2 million dollars

See the revenue distributed through sports betting. This table can be found on the MGCB website.

In October, 14 operators were given the authorization to offer both online casino gaming and sports betting. More detailed information for each casino can be viewed in tables provided on the Michigan Gaming Control Boards website.