Three Sports Betting Bills Get Approval By Michigan House Committee

• Legal sports betting could be legal in the state of Michigan by Super Bowl 2020.
• Representative Brandt Iden is making changes to the bills that were approved by the Michigan House Committee.
• One change that is needed if Iden wants the signature of Governor Gretchen Whitmer is the tax rates.

DETROIT – Michigan’s House Regulatory Reform Committee has given its seal of approval to three separate sports betting bills on Tuesday. The bill trio would make it legal for the three commercial casinos of Detroit and the 23 tribal casinos peppered throughout Michigan to offer their patrons wagering opportunities on sporting events.

Residents could place their bets on-site or through the use of mobile platforms that the facilities’ sportsbooks would have available to them by law.

The bill with the most weight is MI HB 4916 which includes the legalization of both in-person and mobile sports betting statewide.

The next step in the process is to go through the House Ways and Means Committee which is led by Representative Brandt Iden. Not only is Iden one of the authors for the bill, but he has also been in the spotlight in Michigan as an advocate to make sports betting in Michigan legal.

“Because this is already going on in the market place so we can protect those people who want to play and want to play legally, and we can, you know, make the state a little bit of money, which I think is also a positive,” said Iden.

While the bills are in the Ways and Means Committee, Iden himself plans to go over all of the details along with his fellow committee members to make sure that all the kinks have been worked out on the way to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk. The goal is to have sports betting legalized by the time the Super Bowl occurs, allowing the residents of Michigan to legally wager on the biggest game of the year.

One problem that Iden hopes to clear up are the issues surrounding the proposed tax rates.

In the present bills, taxes on sports gambling revenue would be 11.25% for all sports betting lounges in Detroit and 8% on any tribal sportsbook. Estimates show profits of $11.2 million from commercial locations and $8.7 million from all Native American establishments.

The Governor wants higher rates for bigger revenue streams, as the money would be allotted to the Michigan school system. With the current tax rates proposed, schools would still need to pay $28 million annually.

For internet applications, Whitmer would like to see a tax rate of 40% and 15% for all sports betting activity. Iden has stated that those numbers are too extreme to be realistic.

“I’m willing to come up to 9, 9 and a half [percent],” Iden said. “I think we could probably even maybe get to 10, potentially. I’ve thrown these numbers out for the governor and I’m just waiting on a response for this.”

Should he be able to make the changes to bills with a more satisfying number to appease the Governor on the tax rate situation, they would then need to go through both the House and Senate. After that, Whitmer can sign off on turning them into law.

All of this can be done in time for betting on Super Bowl 2020 in February. Let’s hope Iden can make the proper changes to bring legalized sports betting to the state of Michigan by then.

News tags: Brandt Iden | Detroit | Gretchen Whitmer | House Ways and Means Committee | MI HB 4916 | Michigan | Michigan’s House Regulatory Reform Committee | Super Bowl 2020 | Tribal casinos