Interactive gaming licence, poker only
Nevada
The oldest major gaming jurisdiction, with a long sports betting history but no online casino.
Prohibited online casino
Michigan
The state that brought commercial and tribal online operators into a single licensing structure.
| Product | Position | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Online casino | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Sports betting | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Online poker | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Lottery | State monopoly | Reserved to a state or state-controlled operator; no commercial licence is available. |
How the market works
Michigan launched online casino and sports betting on 22 January 2021 under legislation passed at the end of 2019. Its distinguishing feature is that the framework accommodates both the three commercial Detroit casinos and the state's tribal operators, which means a larger number of licence holders than the population alone would suggest and a correspondingly competitive market.
Online gaming revenue is taxed on a graduated scale that rises with an operator's revenue, while online sports betting is taxed at a much lower rate, following the pattern seen across American states. Platform providers are licensed separately from operators.
Michigan also joined the multi-state internet gaming agreement that allows licensed poker rooms to share player pools across state lines, which matters because poker depends on liquidity and no single state is large enough to sustain a deep player pool alone.
Who regulates it
Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), based in Detroit and operating under Lawful Internet Gaming Act 2019. The Michigan board, which licenses commercial and tribal online operators under one framework.
Licence types issued
- Internet gaming licence
- Internet gaming platform provider licence
- Internet sports betting licence
Questions about Michigan
Other markets in North America
Online permit held through an Atlantic City casino licensee
New Jersey
The state that established the American online casino model, live since November 2013.
Licensed online casino
Registration with a provincial conduct-and-manage entity
Ontario
The first competitive regulated online market in Canada, open since April 2022 and the largest in North America for casino play.
Licensed online casino
Interactive gaming certificate held by a land-based licensee
Pennsylvania
A large American online casino market, and the one with the heaviest tax on online slot revenue.
Licensed online casino
Background reading
Legal and compliance
What a gaming licence actually covers
A licence is not a badge of quality and it is not valid everywhere. What it authorises, who it binds, and why one company often holds a dozen.
Legal and compliance
How gambling is taxed, and why the base matters
A tax on stakes and a tax on gross gaming revenue can carry the same headline number and produce completely different businesses.
Legal and compliance
How a company enters a new market
The sequence from legal assessment to launch, and the parts that routinely take longer than anyone plans for.
Legal and compliance
What grey and black markets actually mean
The industry uses three words for the legal status of a market and rarely defines them. Here is what each one means in practice.