Casinos in Michigan
Most casinos in Michigan recently updated there gambling laws, but the state legislators haven’t decided to create a regulated intrastate casino market yet. Michigan has both Native American and land-based casinos, as well as pari-mutuel horse race betting and a state-operated lottery. Michigan does not allow greyhound racing, but all the traditional casino games including online slots, video poker, online roulette, blackjack and other table games are perfectly legal as long as they’re offered in licensed gambling venues. Michigan is very strict when dealing with illegal gambling operators – anyone caught running an illegal casino or other real money gaming business would face several serious charges, including racketeering.
Michigan Gambling Laws
Michigan gambling laws are available in the Michigan Compiled Statutes, Chapter 432, 600 and 750. The law doesn’t prevent anyone from enjoying poker or blackjack in the privacy of his home, but keep in mind that taking part in unregulated real money casino games is definitely illegal. The regulations pertaining to online gambling are very vague, as online casino games simply haven’t been around back when they were designed. While it would be possible for the local law enforcement to argue that playing online is prohibited under the existing regulations, there’s no denying the fact that Michigan officials simply don’t seem to be interested in going after individual customers of offshore casino sites.
Online Casinos
Michigan doesn’t offer any regulated casino sites that operate on the intrastate market due to the lack of the necessary legal framework, but that doesn’t stop Michigan residents from playing on the US-facing offshore casino sites. Most of those sites actually receive plenty of traffic, which allows them to offer excellent bonuses and gives their customers a chance at winning life-changing jackpots. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that many Michigan-based casino enthusiasts play on those sites without ever bothering to check whether the local regulations allow them to play there or not.
Offshore Casino Sites That Accept Michigan Players
Some of the offshore sites that accept Michigan-based players focus on catering to customers from the United States and Canada, but there are many casinos that accept gambling enthusiasts from all over the world. Most of the Michigan-friendly offshore casinos are powered by Real Time Gaming software, which means that they give you access to a wide range of modern slots, table games and video poker variants.
As you’d expect, playing at an offshore site has its downsides. The biggest problem is the limited availability of some of the most popular banking options, which sadly includes all the popular e-wallet services. Consequently, Michigan-based casino enthusiasts are forced to deposit using their credit cards. This method isn’t all that reliable in the United States, as some of the transactions are blocked by the institutions that issue the cards.
If your payment gets blocked, you obviously won’t lose your money. Nevertheless, the funds won’t be credited to your casino account, which means that you’ll have to try another card in order to join the action. In the end, many Michigan residents prefer to avoid all the hassle of trying to deposit via a credit card and go for a Western Union/MoneyGram payment, which is 100% reliable but usually requires you to cover the additional fees.
Developing Legal Scenarios
Michigan doesn’t seem to be interested in legalizing online casino gambling, which is rather disappointing since the state has plenty of casinos that could easily handle operating their own sites. While Michigan representatives aren’t exactly opposed to the idea of a new i-gaming bill, there’s no denying the fact that drafting a piece of legislation that would meet the approval of all the important businesses that make up Michigan’s land-based gambling industry seems to be next to impossible right now.
