How the Michigan online casino license system works
The Lawful Internet Gaming Act, signed in December 2019, gave online licenses to the three commercial casinos in Detroit and to tribes that operate casinos under federal compacts. Each license holder can run its own brand or partner with a national platform, and the first sites went live on January 22, 2021, just over a year after the signing.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board licenses both the casinos and the platform providers, tests the games and sets the location rules. As of July 2026 it counted 15 commercial and tribal operators authorized for internet gaming or online sports betting. All 15 offered casino games, and 13 also took sports bets, according to the board’s monthly release.
That setup means every Michigan online casino brand traces back either to a Detroit address or to tribal land. National names dominate the revenue table, but tribal brands such as FireKeepers, Eagle Casino and Four Winds also run their own online sites, which is unusual among the four online casino states covered on this site.
Poker crosses state lines even though casino games do not. Michigan joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement in May 2022, so a Michigan online casino with a poker room can seat local players at tables shared with New Jersey and other member states. Slots and table games stay limited to players located inside Michigan.
The three Detroit casinos behind the biggest brands
Detroit’s commercial casinos are MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino and Hollywood Casino at Greektown, all downtown and all opened after Michigan voters approved casinos for the city in 1996. Their online licenses carry some of the market’s best-known brands, with MGM Grand Detroit as the base for BetMGM, MGM’s own online brand.
The city shares directly in online play. In July 2026 the three Detroit casinos reported $13.5 million in online gaming taxes and fees paid to the City of Detroit, on top of what they paid on their casino floors. Tribal operators reported $8.4 million in payments to their governing bodies the same month.
For visitors, the Detroit link works like a loyalty bridge. BetMGM accounts tie into MGM Rewards, used at MGM Grand Detroit, and the Hollywood Casino app connects to PENN Play, the program at Hollywood Casino at Greektown. Points rules differ by brand, and each program explains how online play converts on its own pages.
A Michigan online casino account is separate from an account with the same brand elsewhere. A player who uses BetMGM in Michigan and then visits West Virginia needs a second, West Virginia account, with its own balance, limits and verification. Winnings and deposits do not move between states, because each state’s regulator oversees its own wallet.
How big the Michigan online casino market has grown
Michigan’s online casinos reported $303.0 million in gross receipts in August 2026, according to the Gaming Control Board. Adjusted gross receipts from iGaming stood at $290.8 million, up 17.6% on August 2025 and 0.1% on July. That scale built up quickly, since the first Michigan sites only went live on January 22, 2021.
FanDuel led the August table with $72.7 million, followed by BetMGM at $64.1 million and DraftKings at $44.3 million. BetRivers, Hard Rock Bet, Fanatics and Caesars Palace sat in a second group between $17 million and $23 million, with Golden Nugget, Hollywood Casino, bet365 and the tribal brands behind them.
The state collects a large share. In July 2026 online operators paid $61.2 million in iGaming taxes and fees to the State of Michigan, from $290.65 million in adjusted gross receipts. Year on year, online casino adjusted receipts were up 23.6%, while online sports betting, a much smaller business in the state, contributed $30.8 million.
Why Michigan has no racinos
Michigan’s racetracks never got the machines that saved racing in neighboring states. A 2004 constitutional amendment requires a statewide vote for any expansion of gaming outside Detroit and tribal land, and track owners never put one on the ballot. Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania, by contrast, put slot machines or video lottery at their tracks and now count several racinos each.
The tracks shrank instead. Hazel Park, the thoroughbred track near Detroit, closed in 2018. Northville Downs ran a final meet at its Northville site in February 2024 before the land was sold. The Gaming Control Board issued it a 2025 race meeting license, and in September 2026 it raced ten days at the Barry Expo Center in Hastings.
For a racino visit, Michigan residents cross the border. The nearest options are in Ohio, where Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway and Belterra Park mix racing with video lottery, and in Indiana, where Harrah’s Hoosier Park runs harness racing beside a full casino. The racinos near me page maps the rest.
Horse racing betting in Michigan after the TwinSpires ruling
Online horse racing betting in Michigan nearly disappeared at the start of 2025. The Gaming Control Board told advance-deposit wagering operators that their licenses would not be renewed, because state rules required every ADW to partner with a licensed racetrack and Michigan had none operating. The board ordered the apps to stop taking Michigan residents on January 1, 2025.
Churchill Downs did not. Its TwinSpires app kept taking Michigan wagers, the board suspended its license in January 2025, and the company sued. The Sixth Circuit sided with TwinSpires in December 2025, finding that tying an ADW license to a live track added a consent requirement that the federal Interstate Horseracing Act does not allow.
The app stayed open to Michigan players throughout the dispute, so a resident with a TwinSpires account could keep betting races from home while the case ran. Bets placed there go into the same pools as wagers made at the track, and payouts depend on the money wagered into each pool. The pari-mutuel guide explains how those pooled bets work.
For Michigan, this site lists TwinSpires, and the operator listing on this page shows it. The board’s order from January 1, 2025 told every ADW to stop taking Michigan accounts, and TwinSpires kept taking wagers through its federal case. Bettors mostly play simulcast tracks, since Northville Downs raced only ten days in September 2026 at Hastings.
The legal fight still matters for what comes next. Michigan has tried for years to update its 1995 horse racing law, and earlier bills stalled over online wagering. A new statute could set different ground rules, so the apps open to Michigan residents can change with little notice; their own help pages list the states they currently serve.
Choosing a Michigan online casino safely
Because slots and table games stay limited to players located inside Michigan, licensed apps check a phone’s location before play. Crossing into Ohio or Indiana, even briefly, ends access to the casino lobby until the player is back in the state. Cash balances stay in the account, and the same limits apply when play resumes.
Check that a brand appears on the Gaming Control Board’s list of authorized operators before signing up, and that its terms name its Detroit or tribal partner. The board treats running an unlicensed gambling operation as a felony and in October 2026 ordered 33 offshore sites to stop serving Michigan residents.
Licensed Michigan apps offer deposit, spending and time limits, cooling-off periods and self-exclusion through the state’s online responsible gaming database. Bet with your head, not over it: if you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-270-7117. The responsible gambling page explains each option in turn.