In a 7-1 vote, the Michigan Senate approved
moving S. 203 to the full Senate floor. The almost unanimous vote, however,
came as little surprise as State Senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake) introduced
a bill (SB 889) in April last year that would legalize and regulate online
gambling, but the bill failed to reach a vote.
The bill was similar to igaming bills introduced in other states, with the
exception of limiting the number of licenses.
While this week’s outcome may have been easily predicted, it is still a step in the right direction for proponents of online gambling in the state. A new series of igaming bills was introduced by Kowall just last week. The Senator managed to secure five co-sponsors for the measure who are also on the committee.
Issues including whether existing land-based casino revenue could be cannibalized by online gambling, and the possibility of a tax rate as low as 14 % resulting in casinos moving away from their brick-and-mortar operations, were brought to the forefront of the hearing on March 7 in Pennsylvania.
