Legislation

US – Outgoing Michigan Governor axes online gaming bill

By Phil - 2 January 2019

Outgoing Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has axed a bill to regulate online gaming that the legislature had approved before Christmas.

Governor Snyder said: “I do not think it is appropriate to sign legislation that will effectively result in more gambling, with a reasonable chance that the state could lose revenue that could be helpful in dealing with social service issues that are ordinarily attendant to increased gambling behaviour.”

“A significant amount of work went into these bills and getting them to a place where several stakeholders either expressed support or neutrality, and I appreciate that many pro-gaming stakeholders coalesced around these bills. However, due to largely unknown budgetary concerns, I believe this legislation merits more careful study and comparison with how other states have, or will, authorise online gaming. To be blunt, we simply don’t have the data to support this change at the time.”

As well as regulating online gaming in Michigan, the bill would have laid the foundations for sports gambling in the state. Another bill by Brandt Iden, called the “Fantasy Contests Consumer Protection Act,” would have regulated fantasy sports in Michigan, but it too was ruled out for now.

Mr. Iden said: “The veto pen came out for my entire gaming package, which is incredibly disappointing,” Iden said. “We had no idea this was coming. We had all the stakeholders supportive of the package and we had alleviated any concerns, so this is a very surprising outcome. I think it’s unfair because you’re taking a state entity like the lottery and trying to compare it to the free-market system of other online gaming platforms.”

He slammed the move as a ‘ploy to monopolise money coming into the lottery.’

“If your problem is a concern for the lottery, you’re never going to be comfortable with an iGaming bill because it impedes on the state’s monopoly on the lottery,” Mr. Iden said. “That’s not a free-market approach. With 23 tribal casinos across the state plus commercial casinos, anyone can gamble in Michigan at any time. This is a new platform for folks to play on.”

Governor Snyder’s veto came just days before he left his office to be replaced by Gretchen Whitmer on January 1. It is likely that another attempt at an online gambling bill will occur once the legislation’s new session begins on January 9.