Last year, Michigan lawmakers passed a gambling expansion bill legalizing online poker and casinos, plus retail and mobile sports betting. A last-minute change prohibited the Michigan Gaming Control Board from entering into agreements with gaming boards in other jurisdictions.
However, on September 15, the state legislature held a hearing on SB 991 that would allow Michigan residents to participate in interstate online poker. The bill doesn’t spell out how interstate poker would work or which other states would be involved. Mainly it allows reconsideration of changes to last year’s bill.
State Senator Curtis Hertel Jr. said, “To limit the poker player pool to only Michiganders will severely limit the ability of Michiganders to actually find a game that’s interesting. And it will limit their ability to play in tournaments and all those other things.”
Hertel said the original bill was changed due to the state lottery’s concern that online casinos in multiple states could link slot jackpots, thereby producing jackpots that could rival interstate lottery draws and reducing sales.
Specifically, SB 991 states, “The board may enter into agreements with other jurisdictions, including Indian tribes, to facilitate, administer and regulate multijurisdictional internet gaming for poker by internet gaming operators to the extent that entering into the agreement is consistent with state and federal laws and if the internet gaming under the agreement is conducted only in the United States.”
Hertel said he expects the bill to clear the Senate before the end of the month, then move on to the House and be signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer by the end of the year.
