Michigan is home to teams from each of the big four sports leagues — the Tigers of the MLB, the Lions of the NFL, the Red Wings of the NHL and the Pistons of the NBA. They’re all headquartered in Detroit, which makes it an ideal destination for sports fans year-round.
That doesn’t mean that all the action is only in one place though. Michigan has minor, semi-professional and college leagues spread across the whole state. From the Lansing Lugnuts of the MLB minor leagues to the Muskegon Risers of the United Premier Soccer League, there are local teams for everyone.
While odds on minor league teams might be a bit harder to track down, betting on major league sports is easy to do in Michigan. Michigan was one of the earliest states to embrace sports betting after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was struck down in 2018.
In this guide to sports betting in Michigan we’ll walk you through the basics that you need to know so that you can place your first bet with confidence.
Betting on sports in Michigan
In the year and a half since online sports betting went live in Michigan it has become a very popular hobby. Michiganders are devoted to their sports teams and always ready to show their support. Betting on your team to win is one very concrete way to show that support.
Michiganders are just as passionate about their college sports as their professional ones. The University of Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State University Spartans are particular favorites.
Betting on sports in Michigan can be done in person or online. Both ways are popular as many of the older generations prefer the full experience of betting in person and getting tips and gossip from the bookies.
Is sports betting legal in Michigan?
Sports betting is legal in Michigan. The state was one of the first to legalize in person betting, with the first bets being placed in March 2020. Online betting was legalized in 2021. The only professional sport that people in Michigan can’t bet on is professional wrestling. This is due to the fact that fights are scripted events instead of true contests of skill.
You can also bet on college sports in Michigan under certain circumstances. It is illegal to place prop bets on college players.
How did Michigan sports betting become legal?
When the Supreme Court overturned PASPA, it opened the way for each state to make its own sports betting laws. In December 2019, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill that would legalize in person sports betting. By March of 2020, retail betting locations were in operation.
Despite an earlier Republican veto of an online gambling bill in 2018, in 2019 work also began on passing online gambling legislation. In late 2020 it finally passed. The first bets were placed online in January 2021.
Where can I bet on sports in Michigan?
The legislation passed in Michigan has made it possible for legitimate and secure online sportsbooks to begin operating in the state in a fairly straightforward and easy process. This has led to there being a wide variety of great sportsbooks available.
The top sportsbooks in the state are BetMGM, Barstool Michigan, PointsBet Michigan, Caesars Sportsbook, Fanduel, WynnBET, BetRivers, Play Gun Lake and DraftKings.
Make a deposit
Making a deposit at a sportsbook is an essential step in placing your bets. Before you select a sportsbook, you should research which payment methods they offer and decide which ones you would feel most comfortable using. For some people, a bank or wire transfer is preferable because it is simple and easy to track. Others prefer to use payment apps such as PayPal or digital wallets. For the most tech savvy, cryptocurrency is a popular, and very private, way to pay.
Placing a bet
Placing a bet is incredibly easy — the sportsbooks want you to be able to do it after all! The first step is to create an account. Next, you’ll need to make a deposit, unless of course you’ve found a sportsbook that offers a no deposit bonus. Once all of that is taken care of, all you need to do is to navigate to the sport you want to bet on, find the game or futures bet you want to place, and enter how much you want to bet.
Mobile betting app
Most sportsbooks today have realized that people love to place bets while they’re out and about — maybe on the way to the big game or having a beer with friends. Mobile betting apps make this possible.
