Michigan takes another run at online gambling legislation

Michigan is making another run at passing online gambling legislation, but whether this latest bill will make any further progress than previous efforts remains unclear.

Tuesday saw the publication of HB 4926, brought to you by Rep. Brandt Iden (pictured), with the support of two other Republican members of the state House of Representatives and a lone Democrat. The bill is set to be discussed on Wednesday at 10:30am local time by the House Regulatory Reform Committee, on which Iden sits as chairman.

Michigan has previously relied on state Senator Mike Kowall to carry its online gambling hopes and dreams, but while Kowall’s efforts managed to get two Senate committee hearings – including the latest this March – no further forward progress was ever made. So why should HB 4926 be any different?

Michigan’s gaming landscape is complicated by its mix of both commercial and tribal casino operators, and Kowall’s bills required tribes to waive their sovereign immunity and pay the stipulated fees and taxes if they wanted to participate in intrastate online gambling.