The Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee recently approved H-4916, the Sports Betting Act. It moves to the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Republican state Rep. Brandt Iden, author of the legislation. But despite the progress, Iden said Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office “is just not communicating about this now. The governor is not communicating about the budget either at this point in time. The governor’s office is just not communicating, and that’s been part of the issue from Day One.”
Iden added, “She walked away from the negotiation, so that makes it difficult to get her thoughts on any potential for sports betting or iGaming if she’s not at the table. I’m trying to ensure that we look at all possible angles and options to get this done. The budget makes the most sense to me because this is new revenue, but it’s difficult without the administration there to get their thoughts on how they want this structured.”
The government will shut down on October 1 if the legislature and governor can’t agree on a budget. In preparation, the state sent layoff notices to 48,000 employees.
Iden said, “We are working hard to avoid a government shutdown. That never goes well for anybody. It’s not what we want. It’s crazy to me that the governor’s team continues not to be interested in the revenue sports betting and iGaming bring in when the new administration is looking for revenue. They’re looking at raising taxes but not interested in iGaming revenue.”
Iden’s legislation would legalize mobile and in-person sports betting at the three Detroit casinos and 23 tribal casinos. It proposes taxing sports betting at 8 percent, compared to Whitmer’s demand of 15 percent. Iden’s bill also proposes a $200,000 initial licensing fee while Whitmer wants $1 million for a license from the commercial casinos and large tribal casinos. Iden said he’s willing to discuss raising the sports betting tax rate if the governor communicates with him.
