Michigan's gaming regulator has sent cease-and-desist letters to 33 unlicensed operators that took online casino, sweepstakes or sports bets from state residents without a Michigan licence. The Michigan Gaming Control Board issued the letters on 8 October.
Recipients include Azartzona Casino, BingoMania, Cryptoplay, iWild Casino, mBit Casino, Raging Bull Slots, Sloto'Cash Online Casino and Stardust, among others. None of them is bound by the state's self-exclusion list, so a player who has voluntarily barred himself from the legal market can still open an account, deposit and bet offshore. Licensed Michigan operators have to run checks against the Internet Gaming and Sports Betting Responsible Gaming Database.
The protections that are missing
MGCB executive director Henry Williams said players on unlicensed sites get no independent testing of game fairness, and no state-standard protection for their personal and financial data. If an operator withholds a payout or blocks an account, there is no regulator to appeal to.
It is the second such wave this year. In April the board reported 45 letters sent over four months. Operators that ignore the demands face further action taken together with the state attorney general.
The national picture
The gap is not Michigan's alone. An August analysis by the American Gaming Association put betting by Americans through illegal and unregulated operators, offshore included, at $673.6 billion a year, up 22% from 2022. The share of online casino players using legal sites only fell from 52% in 2022 to 24%, and nearly half now use both. Illegal bookmakers and offshore sportsbooks accounted for $84 billion over the year. One bettor in ten uses illegal channels alone.
The same research found that 70% of bettors who place most of their bets with illegal operators believed they were using licensed bookmakers only, or splitting their bets evenly between the two.
