Michigan Gaming Control Board Targets 9 Online Casinos

On Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) sent cease-and-desist letters to nine online gaming operators. These firms are allegedly violating state gambling laws by offering their services to Michiganders. The MGCB, created in 1997, is the body that exercises oversight of the MI gambling industry, including regulation of land-based casinos and online state-licensed gaming enterprises.

Who Were the Letters Sent To?

The recipients of the letters from the MGCB are moderately well-known offshore gaming organizations. They are:

• BetAnySports
• CoolCat Casino
• Diamond Sportsbook International a.k.a. BetDSI
• Solar Game and Busan Trade Office (Go Go Gold)
• My Dreams Casino
• NonStop Casino
• Palace of Chance
• XBet Casino
• WagerWeb

Taking a look at the XBet Casino website gives us an idea of the kinds of operations that are being targeted:

XBet Casino Website

The types of games available are prominently listed in the lobby and include Slots, Blackjack, and Video Poker. We can see that XBet has several divisions, displayed across the top of the page: Sportsbook, Live Betting, Casino, Live Casino, Racing.

While some of the nine sites we're talking about focus exclusively on casino games (e.g., Cool Cat Casino and Palace of Chance), most of them are like XBet and also incorporate sports and/or racetrack wagering products.

What Did the Letters Say?

We have been unable to turn up any extant copies of or excerpts from the letters issued by the MGCB, but we can use information posted in a statement on the Board's website to understand their contents.

The MGCB contends that these nine organizations are breaking state gambling laws, including the Lawful Internet Gaming Act, the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act, and the Michigan Penal Code. They are supposedly in violation because they're doing business in the state without obtaining Michigan gambling licensure.

All recipients of these letters are urged to cease providing gambling services to Michigan residents within 14 days. Should they elect not to comply, the MGCB is “prepared to work with the Michigan Attorney General's Office to pursue further legal action.” The scope of any such “legal action” is left vague although the MGCB notes that running a gambling business without a valid license is a felony with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000.

MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams commented:

These unlicensed operators are not only in violation of Michigan’s laws but also pose significant risks to consumers by offering limited and often unreliable withdrawal options. Our role is to protect Michigan residents by ensuring that all online gambling activities are carried out legally and responsibly. These operators have 14 days to cease their illegal activities or face further legal action.

Why Is the Board Taking Action?

The MGCB highlights its role in consumer protection, stating that offshore sites can be “a risky choice” and urging customers to take their gambling business to state-regulated entities for greater safety.

As an example of the supposed nefariousness of offshore casinos, the MGCB explains:

Although these sites offer various payment methods…they often require players to play through the entirety of their initial deposit at least once and achieve a certain minimum dollar amount before qualifying to withdraw their winnings.

So basically, the MGCB takes issue with the fact that offshore gaming companies require a playthrough on deposits and have minimum withdrawal amounts. Fair enough, except that this is also true of Michigan-licensed internet gambling sites.

Let's take as a random example, say, PokerStars Michigan: a properly licensed state-regulated gaming provider and certainly one with a lengthy history and respectable reputation. When we look at the site's Withdrawal Policy, we find the following:

PokerStars MI Withdrawal Policy

In the section of the website describing Instant eChecks withdrawals, we encounter this text:

PokerStars Michigan Instant eChecks Information

So PokerStars Michigan, a duly licensed gaming firm in full compliance with the law, requires customers to wager deposits through once and has withdrawal minimums. This is exactly the behavior for which the MCGB criticizes offshore gambling entities!

Our Perspective

We think the MGCB's commitment to consumer protection is perhaps overstated especially when we consider that licensed MI online gaming portals engage in the same business practices as their counterparts in other parts of the world.

The statement on MGCB website maybe gives a clue as to their true motive when it notes that “[The] unregulated market not only undermines consumer protections but also results in substantial tax revenue losses for state and local governments.”

This isn't the first time the specter of lost tax revenue has raised the ire of Michigan regulators. In May 2023, Michigan led seven states in drafting a letter calling upon the U.S. Department of Justice to do more to combat offshore casinos and sportsbooks. While this letter mentioned such topics as potential money laundering and underage gambling, it was honest enough to also cite “loss of state tax revenue” as a concern.

MGCB Very Active Recently

Besides drafting a letter calling for stronger enforcement of gambling laws in early 2023, Michigan has since done a lot to advance its agenda. In May 2024, the MGCB issued a cease-and-desist letter to Bovada, which left the Michigan market shortly thereafter. Then in October 2024, the MGCB issued similar letters to the owners of two sports betting enterprises and four illegal gaming apps. Finally, last month, it sent another letter: this time to MyBookie.ag.

It seems that the MGCB favors an active role for itself in combatting offshore gaming providers. In this, it resembles the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). Both of these agencies have been proactive in fighting against what they believe to be illicit gambling operations.

The ACMA, for instance, routinely investigates domains that it believes are related to online gambling and demands that Australian ISPs block them. The New Jersey DGE, for its part, zealously monitors the industry and is quick to hand out fines to any organizations that it catches breaking the rules.

Workarounds Usually Available

The MGCB is fairly new to the field of internet gambling regulation, and it may find that its efforts might not yield as much fruit as it hopes. The experience of the ACMA in particular suggests that many corporations will simply find ways around any attempts to block their market access. Australian gambling firms targeted by the ACMA have responded by shifting customers over to unblocked sister sites, establishing new domains that are not on the regulator's blacklist, and employing alternative DNS servers to bypass any IP blocks.

Many Gaming Options Still Available in Michigan

We will have to wait and see if any of the nine online gambling entities named by the MGCB actually comply with the letter. Regardless, there yet remain numerous international gaming organizations that happily transact in the State of Michigan.

One of the most prominent among them is Ignition. It offers casino games and poker tables across the country, and it does not prevent customers in Michigan from signing up and playing. When you make a first deposit at Ignition using crypto-currency, you can get a 150% up to $1,500 bonus for the poker room and a similar bonus for the casino. Click below to get started at Ignition Casino today:

To read up further on what Ignition has to offer, check out this accurate Ignition Casino Poker review. You might wish to also consult this list of Michigan online poker sites to explore your other options.