Michigan Representative to push for online gaming

Iden said that he wants to legalise online gaming and sports betting in Michigan before neighboring Ohio

The Michigan House Ways and Means Committee chairman will push for the legalisation of sports betting and online gaming in the state.

US.- Rep. Brandt Iden has revealed that he will push to advance amended legislation in order to legalise online gaming and sports betting in Michigan. He said that he will negotiate tax rates and other issues with vendors, operators and sports leagues.

According to Detroit News, Iden said that he wants to legalise online gaming and sports betting in Michigan before neighbouring Ohio. This means that Michigan would need to legalise the modalities before the end of 2019. However, he said that his attempts to negotiate with Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration were unsuccessful.

The amended bills were completed on Monday and are scheduled to be considered today in the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Iden.

Earlier this year, former Governor Rick Snyder vetoed approximately 40 passed bills, three of them regarding online gambling measures.

The modifications

The proposed changes include an increase in online and sports betting tax rates. These would be higher than the 8% rate proposed in the initial legislation. However, they would be lower than the 40% for online gaming and 15% for sports betting that Whitmer had proposed.

Iden also said that he reached agreements with professional sports leagues, such as the MLB and the NFL.

Sports betting’s tax rate would be 8.75% at the 23 tribal casinos and 12% at the three Detroit casinos. Online gaming’s tax rate would be from 4% to 23% based on revenue.