New Online Gaming Bill on the Cards for Michigan

According to a recent press report, the lawmakers in the state of Michigan in the United States are mulling over the prospect of passing a new bill that legalizes online gambling within the state. A bill named H4926 that seems to have taken its cue from an earlier Bill 203 issued in the Senate, was recently introduced by State Rep Brandt Iden in the house. Exploring the issue of tribal taxation and local gaming, the Bill 203 was proposed by Senator Mike Kowall a couple of months back.

While the Bill 203 required both the federally recognized state tribes and casinos in the state to give up their right to sovereignty for receiving an online gaming license, the House Bill H4926 states that any recognized tribe of the state of Michigan can procure an online gambling license provided that they possess the necessary authorization as stipulated in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The House Bill H4926 allows a window of a year to identify suitable rules and regulations that would be able to adequately govern the task of licensing and operation of the Internet gambling websites in Michigan. Also, the bill proposes revising the age limit for gambling eligibility in the state to 21 years.

The bill also proposes a legislative amendment that would authorize the state of Michigan to sign with other jurisdictions and states, an interstate compact that legalizes online gambling. Additionally, the bill also issues a legislation that obligates all online gambling operators to include online poker in their suite of games as well.

According to the bill, all the online gaming companies will need to submit upfront an application fee worth $100,000 for acquiring a five-year license. In addition to this, the total cost of a five-year license would include a first-year payment of $200,000 along with subsequent annual payments of $100,000. Apart from this, the vendor and platform license charges for a period of five years would require an upfront payment of $5000 and $100,000 respectively. The Bill H4926 also proposes a tax of 15% to be submitted by all the online casino operators, with an opportunity to lower the figure in case the state of Michigan enters into a new or revised contract with a tribe with the aim of conducting the business of online gambling.