How to get a gambling licence in Michigan: fees and steps

Michigan splits online gambling across two statutes but one regulator. The Lawful Internet Gaming Act covers online casino and poker; the Lawful Sports Betting Act covers online sports betting. Both are administered by the MGCB, and both went live on 22 January 2021.

• The MGCB licenses and supervises the entire market: it issues the operator, supplier and occupational licences, approves platforms, runs the Responsible Gaming Database, audits tax filings, and can fine, suspend or revoke.
• Online casino (internet gaming) and online sports betting are separate licences under separate Acts, with separate tax rates. A brand that wants both applies for both.
• The minimum age is 21 for all online gambling in Michigan, verified at registration against identity documents (LIGA and LSBA).
• Wagers must be placed by a person physically located in Michigan; the platform must geofence the state and reject out-of-state play, consistent with the federal Wire Act working assumption that bets stay intrastate.

Laws that apply

• Lawful Internet Gaming Act, Public Act 152 of 2019 (MCL 432.301 et seq.): online casino and online poker
• Lawful Sports Betting Act, Public Act 149 of 2019 (MCL 432.401 et seq.): online and retail sports betting
• Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act, Initiated Law 1 of 1996 (MCL 432.201 et seq.): the 3 Detroit commercial casino licences
• MGCB Internet Gaming Rules and Internet Sports Betting Rules (Mich. Admin. Code R. 432.601 et seq.)
• Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq. · tribal-state Class III compacts (the 12 tribes)

This is the single most important structural fact. Under the Lawful Internet Gaming Act an Internet Gaming Operator licence may be issued only to a casino licensee, defined as one of the 3 Detroit commercial casinos or one of the 12 federally recognised Michigan tribes. That is 15 possible operator licensees, and no more. A standalone online brand cannot hold the operator licence itself.

• Each casino licensee may field one internet-gaming (online-casino) brand and one internet-sports-betting brand, so the market is capped at roughly 15 online-casino skins and 15 online-sportsbook skins.
• To enter Michigan without owning a Detroit casino or being a tribe, you must sign a market-access deal with one of the 15 casino licensees and license as an Internet Gaming Supplier / platform provider. The casino holds the operator licence; you run the platform under it.
• The market-access fee or revenue share you pay the casino or tribe is a privately negotiated commercial cost. It is not in the MGCB fee schedule and must be budgeted separately from the state fees below.
• Tribes are folded directly into the statewide online market: a tribe can run a consumer brand across all of Michigan, not only on tribal land, which makes a tribal partnership a genuine market-access route alongside the 3 Detroit casinos.

MGCB fees are fixed by statute and are the same for the internet-gaming (online-casino) and internet-sports-betting tracks at the operator level. Operator licences are valid five years; supplier licences are valid five years and renewable. Fees are non-refundable, and applicants also reimburse the Boards investigation costs.

• Internet Gaming Operator licence: $50,000 application fee, then $100,000 on issuance of the initial licence, then a $50,000 fee each year (MCL 432.306).
• Internet Gaming Supplier (platform provider) licence: $5,000 application fee, $5,000 initial licence fee, and $2,500 per year thereafter.
• Internet Sports Betting Supplier licence: $2,500 application fee, $5,000 initial licence fee, and $2,500 per year (Lawful Sports Betting Act).
• The applicant also pays the actual cost of the MGCB background investigation, which is billed separately and is not capped by the headline fee.

Online casino is taxed on adjusted gross receipts (AGR, essentially wagers received minus winnings paid) on a graduated scale that rises with annual receipts. The bands are set in MCL 432.314 and apply to each internet gaming operators AGR for the calendar year.

• The rate is applied in bands as receipts grow through the year, so a large operator effectively pays a blended rate that climbs toward 28% once annual AGR passes $12 million.
• Detroit commercial casino operators pay an additional municipal services fee of 1.25% of AGR to the City of Detroit, on top of the graduated state tax (MCL 432.314).
• Tax is remitted monthly. Adjusted gross receipts are net of winnings paid to players but not of operating costs, marketing or bonuses.
• Tribal operators internet-gaming payments follow their tribal-state compacts and the Act; the 30% City of Detroit share applies to the Detroit commercial casinos, not to tribal operators.

Online sports betting is taxed far more lightly than online casino. The rate is a flat 8.4% of adjusted gross sports betting receipts under the Lawful Sports Betting Act, with the same Detroit municipal add-on for the commercial casinos.

• Adjusted gross sports betting receipts are total wagers received minus winnings paid and minus certain federal excise tax, so the effective base is narrower than handle.
• A Detroit commercial casino sportsbook therefore pays 8.4% state tax plus the 1.25% city fee; a tribal sportsbook pays the state tax without the Detroit add-on and remits under its compact.
• The 8.4% sports rate is low by US standards (some states tax sports betting at 20% to 51%), which is a deliberate feature of the Michigan framework.

Both Acts impose a full suitability and financial-responsibility review on operators and suppliers, similar to a land-based casino licence. The Board must be satisfied of good character, honesty, integrity and financial responsibility before it issues any licence.

• The applicant, its holding companies and its key persons (directors, officers, managerial employees and significant owners) must be found suitable; ownership and the source of funds must be disclosed and transparent.
• The Board reviews criminal history, litigation and regulatory history, financial statements and the ability to conduct internet gaming responsibly and to meet ongoing obligations.
• Any material misstatement in an application is grounds for denial or revocation; every statement is subject to verification.
• Occupational licences are required for individuals performing certain functions for a licensee; downstream vendors register rather than fully license.

Platforms and games must be independently tested and certified, and the wagering equipment must sit inside Michigan. The MGCB designated Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) as its test laboratory, and its technical standards adopt the GLI interactive-gaming standard.

• Internet gaming platforms and games must be tested and certified by an MGCB-authorised independent test laboratory (GLI) before launch and after material changes.
• The platform provider must locate a server or other equipment capable of receiving wagers within the State of Michigan, in a secure location approved by the Board; systems must meet GLI-19, Standards for Interactive Gaming Systems.
• Real-time geolocation must confirm the player is physically within Michigan for every wager, and identity and age (21+) must be verified at registration through KYC checks.
• Each player may hold one account per operator brand; the platform must support deposit, wager and session controls and must integrate the Responsible Gaming Database in section 8.

Michigan runs a centralised, Board-administered self-exclusion register, the Responsible Gaming Database (RGD). Operators must check it and must not open or maintain an account for, or accept wagers from, an excluded person.

• A person may self-exclude for one year or five years, and the exclusion covers internet gaming, internet sports betting and, through the Boards disassociated-persons list, in-person Detroit casino play, so one enrolment can bar all channels.
• Operators must screen registrations and ongoing accounts against the RGD in real time and block excluded persons from wagering and from receiving marketing.
• Platforms must offer responsible-gaming tools: deposit, wager and time limits, session reminders, self-imposed cool-off, and clear links to problem-gambling help.
• A share of the state Internet Gaming Fund is directed to the Compulsive Gaming Prevention Fund and first-responder support, funded from the graduated tax rather than a separate per-licensee levy.

On top of state rules, online casinos are financial institutions under the federal Bank Secrecy Act, and the MGCB polices both licensed conduct and unlicensed operators.

• Anti-money-laundering: as a casino under 31 U.S.C. 5311 et seq., an operator files with FinCEN, runs KYC and customer due diligence, monitors and reports suspicious activity, and keeps records; the MGCB expects an internal AML programme.
• Advertising must be truthful, must not target minors or self-excluded persons, must carry responsible-gambling messaging and a problem-gambling helpline, and must promote only MGCB-licensed brands.
• Enforcement: the MGCB can impose fines, and suspend or revoke a licence, for breach of the Acts or rules; operating internet gaming or sports betting in Michigan without a licence is unlawful and is pursued by the Board and the Attorney General.
• Ongoing duties: monthly tax returns and payment, continuous certification of platform changes, RGD integration, and annual licence-fee renewal are all conditions of staying live.

The route to a live Michigan online operation, in filing order. If you are not a Detroit casino or a tribe, the first and hardest step is the market-access deal; everything else follows from it. Build the platform, certification and geolocation in parallel with the MGCB suitability review.

1. 01

   Confirm your route: casino, tribe or supplier

   LIGA · 15 operator licensees only

   Decide whether you are one of the 15 casino licensees (an operator) or a technology brand (a supplier). Only the 3 Detroit casinos and 12 tribes can hold an Internet Gaming Operator licence; everyone else licenses as an Internet Gaming Supplier / platform provider tied to one of them.

2. 02

   Sign a market-access agreement

   Commercial cost, not in the fee schedule

   If you are a supplier, negotiate and sign a market-access deal with one of the 3 Detroit commercial casinos or one of the 12 tribes for one online-casino brand and, if wanted, one online-sportsbook brand. The fee or revenue share is private and is your largest real entry cost. Weigh the Detroit 1.25% city add-on when choosing a partner.

3. 03

   Choose your verticals

   LIGA (casino) · LSBA (sports)

   Decide whether you are launching online casino (Lawful Internet Gaming Act), online sports betting (Lawful Sports Betting Act), or both. Each vertical is a separate operator or supplier application with its own fees and tax rate.

4. 04

   Assemble the suitability dossier

   Good character, integrity, financial responsibility

   Compile ownership and beneficial-owner disclosure, source-of-funds evidence, financial statements, and criminal, regulatory and litigation history for the applicant, holding companies and key persons. Prepare occupational-licence and vendor-registration filings for individuals and downstream vendors.

5. 05

   Pay the fees and file with the MGCB

   Operator $50,000 + $100,000 · supplier $5,000 + $5,000

   Submit the operator application (with the casino licensee) or the supplier application, paying the $50,000 operator or $5,000 internet-gaming supplier application fee, and be ready to reimburse the Boards investigation costs.

6. 06

   Build the platform and place the server in Michigan

   GLI-19 · in-state equipment

   Deploy the platform with the wager-receiving server or equipment physically located in Michigan under an MGCB-approved security regime meeting GLI-19, plus real-time Michigan geolocation, 21+ age and identity verification, and one-account controls.

7. 07

   Certify with GLI

   MGCB-designated test laboratory

   Have the platform, games and RNG tested and certified by Gaming Laboratories International, the MGCB-authorised independent test lab, before launch and again after any material change.

8. 08

   Integrate the Responsible Gaming Database

   RGD · self-exclusion 1 or 5 years

   Wire in a real-time check against the MGCB Responsible Gaming Database so no self-excluded person can register, wager or receive marketing, and implement deposit, wager, time and cool-off tools with helpline links.

9. 09

   Clear MGCB review and take a provisional licence if offered

   Provisional launch possible

   Respond quickly to Board information requests. Where you are already suitable elsewhere, ask about a provisional operator or supplier licence so you can launch while the full investigation completes.

10. 10

    Stand up AML and BSA compliance

    31 U.S.C. 5311 et seq. · FinCEN

    Implement KYC and customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, suspicious-activity reporting to FinCEN, recordkeeping and staff training as a casino under the federal Bank Secrecy Act, alongside the MGCB internal-controls requirements.

11. 11

    Go live and run monthly tax and reporting compliance

    Casino 20% to 28% · sports 8.4% · monthly

    Launch under the casino licensees operator licence. File and pay monthly: the graduated 20% to 28% internet-gaming tax on AGR (plus 1.25% to Detroit for the commercial casinos) and the 8.4% online sports betting tax, keep certification and RGD current, and renew the licence annually ($50,000 operator, $2,500 supplier).

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 28 Jul 2026.