In an unexpected, and under the radar move, the state of Michigan has presented their own online gambling bill, where it would move to include casino and poker games. Michigan, let alone other states, has not been the focus of everyone is still waiting to see what California, New York, and Pennsylvania do in their own gambling efforts. However, what brought the attention directly to the SB 889 bill introduced last Friday by Senator Mike Kowall, along with four co-sponsors, was certain wording in the bill that could open the market.
International Liquidity Sharing a Possibility
Certain wording inside of the SB 889 bill has a lot of casino players wondering what the future looks like, and if they can go back to the days before Black Friday happened. There is a part that defines what a wager is,
“A wager may be accepted from an individual who is not physically present in this state … including any foreign nation. This is, of course, subject to the State of Michigan sanctioning such multijurisdictional wagers and provided they do not violate any federal laws.”
This definition allows Michigan and its regulated online casinos to someday offer their residents a way to gamble on players from outside the state, and perhaps even crossing the border, in an effort to possibly have an international liquidity sharing policy. It seems that Senator Kowell has learned a thing or two about online poker by looking at the recent markets that have opened up.
Online Poker Struggles When Confined
The markets that have legalized and regulated online poker have not been doing very well, with the exception of New Jersey which is currently on the rise. However, markets like Nevada and Delaware have been struggling and one reason is their small gambling populations present a problem. This is why people look to larger markets like California, but even then, the online casinos would be limited to those players that reside within its borders.
This would be the first time that a bill has expressed the idea of international liquidity sharing and opening its doors to players from outside the United States. Michigan takes it one step further and mentions that by regulating it they can offer better protections for their residents, who will not have to go to illegal or offshore casinos to gamble.
“In order to protect residents of this state who wager on games of chance and skill through the Internet and to capture revenues and create jobs generated from Internet gaming, it is in the best interest of this state and its citizens to regulate this activity by authorizing and establishing a secure, responsible, fair, and legal system of Internet gaming that complies with the United States Department of Justice’s September 2011 opinion concerning [the Wire Act].”
This would be an amazing bill to pass, as it could allow other states that are on the fence see there is a bigger market they can reach. Also helping current markets to amend their bill to include this deal.
