Jun27
Red Rake Gaming Secures Provisional License in Michigan to Expand US Presence
Michigan Governor Puts Veto On Online Gambling Legislation
January 1, 2019 Petar Mitrovic
Michigan has approved sports betting with the legislation ing the state Senate with a majority of votes. Then, it circled back to the House where it was ed by 71 votes and all that remained was for Governor, Rick Snyder, to sign it in order for it to become a law.
It turned out that putting a signature was more than a formality for the outgoing Governor!
Apparently, on Friday, Governor Snyder vetoed a large number of bills that ed the state legislature in days before Christmas…
…with one of these bills being the HB 4926 which would permit the state’s commercial and tribal casinos to offer gambling online.
Not many saw this coming but Snyder wrote a letter, justifying his move. He said that he appreciated the “significant amount of work’ that legislators such as Rep. Brandt Iden had put into achieving consensus among the state’s commercial and tribal gaming operators…”
…but claimed that government agencies “simply don’t have the data to this change at this time.”
More Justifications
People of Michigan will apparently have to wait for online gambling services as Snyder claimed that authorizing online betting could switch gamblers’ focus from the “state’s iLottery program to internet-based gambling at casinos.” The online sales for Michigan iLottery were launched in November 2014…
…and they have contributed significantly to the lottery revenue of the state.
Additionally, Snyder didn’t like lower taxes proposed by the legislation. He said that these, unlike the tax on lottery sales, would result in a “concerning” decrease in funding for the state’s School Aid Fund.
But there’s more
Moreover, Snyder said that allowing online casino, poker and sports betting “will encourage gambling by making it easier to do.” Snyder didn’t find it “appropriate to sign legislation that will effectively result in more gambling, with a reasonable chance that the state could lose revenue.”
The outgoing governor said that he hoped for the next istration and legislature to deal with the issue of taxes more thoroughly and evaluate them in a way to be beneficial for the state.
ing the Club
Had Snyder signed, Michigan would have become one of the rare states in the US that offers online gambling and sports betting. After that, they could have focused on other issues in state’s gambling industry.
Snyder’s term as governor ends on January 1st, 2019. He will be replaced by Gretchen Whitmer and the legislature will start new session on January 9th. This will be another go on legalizing online gambling in Michigan…
...something that has been delayed for too long in this state!
New Casinos
Even though, Governor Snyder’s veto is a major setback for online wagering and sports betting in Michigan, the gambling industry looks solid here. New facilities are being built…
…one of which is a casino in Fruitport Township, in western Michigan. It is a tribal casino that will mean so much for the community.
Approximately $180 million is to be invested into a facility that will house 1700 slot machines and 35 table games.
Source:
“Michigan guv vetoes online gambling legislation”, Steven Stradbrooke, calvinayre.com, December 30, 2018.
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What a shame, and just when things appeared to be going on the right track. It appears as if he did that on purpose just to mess things up for the new governor.