Michigan is one of the better States when it comes to opportunities to enjoy live poker games. There are more than 19 casinos, both tribal and State licensed. It was a Canadian casino which kicked off the legislation of State licensed venues back in 1996. The Windsor Casino over the river from Detroit in Ontario was attracting so many visitors (and revenue) that the Michigan government could no longer ignore it.

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Legal Poker Sites In Michigan

Michigan Online Poker Latest updates on Michigan online poker, bonus offers and best poker sites Online poker is live in Michigan! PokerStars became the first online site to open its doors for Michigan players in January 2021. BetMGM Poker launched in March 2021, and more poker sites are on. Things are changing fast for online poker in the United States. There are five states with legal online poker games — Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan and Pennsylvania – plus legal, sweepstakes poker games in other areas. While the boom of 10 years ago is over, online poker for real money in the US is on the rise again. This is a detailed guide to legal poker sites in the US.

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This article covers poker in Michigan in all the possible ways it can be played. First of all below you will find more information on the live poker scene in casino card-rooms. After that a look at home and social poker games can be found. Next up online poker is covered, with a story about how this was outlawed before any other State had even considered it, only for the law to be repealed. Finally you will find some key information from the MI Statute books – clarifying the legal position here.

Live Poker Games In Michigan

Whether you enjoy the luxury surroundings of the MGM Grand Casino poker room in Detroit, or one of the many Tribal casinos with poker games dotted around the State – you really do have a great choice in Michigan. In addition to the 3 main Detroit casinos (MGM, Motor City and Greektown) you can cross the river and find plenty of poker action at the Canadian Windsor casino too.

While some of the smaller tribal outfits only run lower buy-in cash games and weekly tournaments, you can find some higher stakes action in the big casinos here. Events include the popular Mid-States Poker Tour – alongside many local events.

Are Home Games Legal In Michigan?

Whether you can play social home games legally depends entirely on which part of the gambling Statutes you are reading. One part of this specifically exempts these games from the broad definition of illegal gambling activity. At the same time, another part does include them in these definitions.

As in most States, the key factor is whether there is an individual profiting from running the game. As long as everyone joins as equals, with nobody profiting by taking a rake from pots or charging an entry fee – then the game is tolerated. There is no history of small stakes poker home games being busted in Michigan – though crossing the line into running a game for profit will get you into trouble quickly.

Michigan And Online Poker Games

MI were the very first State to ban gambling using a computer back in 1999. Fortunately for online poker fans, this law was quietly repealed a short time afterwards. Today it is assumed that the broad based ‘everything is illegal unless otherwise specified’ gambling laws do cover internet poker. Michigan has no history of busting internet poker fans. The offshore poker sites who still welcome US players are open to MI residents – many of whom enjoy the cash games and tournaments available there with no problems.

There is little to indicate that Michigan is planning to regulate online poker either within their State borders or in conjunction with other States. MI is not anti-gambling, so the possibility of future regulation remains open. The chances of this State being one of the first are very slim though.

What Do The Michigan Statutes Say?

Each State defines illegal gambling activity in their own way, here in Michigan it is making money from gambling and the ownership of devices which can be used for gambling which will get you into trouble with the law. Poker as a skill game is counted out with the wide definition of using cards. Winning amounts below $50 is exempted, though it is unclear from the legal wording whether this is per hand or per session.

Here is the key wording from the MI Statute books, this is from section 740-314:

…Any person who by playing at cards, dice, or any other game, or by betting or putting up money on cards, or by any other means or device in the nature of betting on cards, or betting of any kind, wins or obtains any sum of money…

As broad definitions of gambling activity go – this one covers just about everything poker related in one go!

Overview Of Michigan Poker – Summing It Up

The combination of 19 tribal casinos and the 3 State licensed venues in Detroit give Michigan residents plenty of choice when it comes to poker rooms. In addition there is the short hop across the river to the Windsor Casino in Ontario freely available. Home games are tolerated here as long as they are social only and nobody is profiting from the games. If your pots are under $50 then you are almost certainly not breaking any laws.

With a generally gambler-friendly environment, there is a possibility that MI will join a future round of legislation to regulate online poker. There is no indication that this is being discussed at the moment, so the best hope for online poker fans is that Michigan will join a future wave of regulation.

Legal online poker is live in Michigan. The Great Lakes State is emerging as a major online poker hub in the US, with healthy player traffic on both PokerStars MI and BetMGM Poker MI.

Michigan stands as one of five states offering state-regulated online poker. Along with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Nevada, Michigan is a pioneer in the US online poker economy.

Other online poker networks could arrive in Michigan at some point. Michigan poker sites could merge player pools with other states in the future, thanks to the state’s multijurisdictional poker bill.

PokerStars MI and BetMGM Poker Michigan both offer a comprehensive menu of cash games and tournaments. Special tournament series play out regularly on both networks, and Michigan’s online poker economy continues to grow.

Best Michigan Online Poker Sites July 2021

BetMGM Poker offers new players $25 free plus a deposit bonus of 100% up to $600 dollars. BetMGM Poker and PokerStars Michigan are currently the online two legal online poker sites available to Michigan players.

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Player traffic is somewhat low during off-peak hours

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Banking Options

The introduction of legal online poker puts Michigan on a shortlist of states that offer state-regulated mobile poker. Only Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, and Pennsylvania currently present the opportunity to play online poker legally. West Virginia will soon join this list.

Online poker sites in Michigan currently do not share players with other legal online poker states. This could soon change after Michigan legislators passed a bill giving Michigan regulators the ability to make deals with other states to share player liquidity.

Online casinos and poker in the Wolverine State function in partnership with the state’s commercial and tribal casinos. PokerStars launched in partnership with Odawa Casino, while BetMGM Poker operates in partnership with MGM Grand Detroit. The BetMGM Poker technology is backed by partypoker, which also offers online poker in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

PokerStars Michigan offers a full slate of

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