Michigan tribal gaming operators have struck online gambling and sports betting partnerships with The Stars Group (TSG) and PointsBet as the state prepares for its regulated market launch.
On Monday, TSG announced that it had reached a deal with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Gaming Authority to provide real-money online gambling and sports betting products, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.
TSG will get first skin market access to operate and brand real-money online operations while the tribe, which operates the Odawa Casino Resort in Petoskey and the Odawa Casino Mackinaw in Mackinaw City, will receive an unspecified revenue share of TSG’s branded online operations.
Monday also saw Australian betting operator PointsBet’s newly established Michigan subsidiary announce a similar deal with the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (LVD), which operates the Lac Vieux Desert Northern Waters Casino Resort in Watersmeet.
The 20-year deal (with an additional five-year option) calls for PointsBet to launch digital sports betting using its own mobile app and website platforms while the two parties will also launch “PointsBet and LVD branded” online casino operations. The parties are still negotiating terms for a retail sportsbook at the casino.
PointsBet, which currently operates wagering in New Jersey and Iowa, will pay LVD an undisclosed share of net gaming revenue as well as market access fees, while PointsBet is also on the hook for all licensing and regulatory costs associated with the launch.
Michigan’s governor signed her state’s online casino, poker and sports betting legislation into law shortly before Christmas. The online launches may not happen until much later this year but optimists have suggested the state’s retail betting market could launch in time for this spring’s March Madness college basketball tournament.
