Michigan‘s state gaming regulatory agency is seeking to end popular offshore gambling operator Bovada’s tenure in the state. The Michigan Gaming Control Board mailed a cease-and-desist letter to Bovada ordering the company to stop operating in Michigan on or before June 12, within a week. As an offshore operator, Bovada does not legally operate in any US state and currently offers betting in 45 US states. So, Bovada leaving Michigan It’s something that could create a huge cascading effect in the future.
Bovada was an even bigger player in the US before the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. After the repeal of PASPA, many states began to create their own gambling laws, and now a large part of the country is where sports betting is legal. Consequently, if you don’t mind paying taxes on your sports betting winnings, the appeal of using a site like Bovada has diminished.
However, there is still active demand for offshore books, for example, if you live in a state where online sports betting is illegal, if you don’t want to pay taxes on betting winnings, or if you just like the interface and ease. of use. -use of such platforms and do not wish to open accounts with legal operators that conduct business in your place of residence. However, state governments have a vested interest in ensuring that betting placed in their states is done through legal means.
Michigan has started cracking down
This brings us to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which wants Bovada leaving Michigan and has already sent three more cease and desist letters to unlicensed operators in the last six months. Specifically, in the Bovada case, MGCB claims that Bovada’s parent company is violating three state laws: (1) The Legal Internet Gaming Act, (2) The Michigan Gaming Revenue and Control Act, and (3) The Michigan Penal Code. .
Harp Media BV, by allowing Bovada to operate in Michigan, is being accused of failing to obtain a state-approved license to conduct online gambling. The Michigan Gaming Revenue and Control Act allows for fairly significant penalties for conducting unlicensed gambling operators, including a possible prison sentence for violators, as well as large monetary fines.
Sports Betting at Bovada is a particular concern in Michigan because online sports betting has been legal there since December 2019. There is a lot of competition in the legal betting space with 14 online sportsbooks and 15 online casinos paying $150,000 each in betting fees. license every five years. The state wants to ensure that operators can collect as much market share as possible, not only to maximize tax revenue but also to ensure that operators want to continue operating in the state. If operators want to leave because they are losing market share to illegal online sites like Bovada, then the state would be worse off.
Will other states follow Michigan’s example?
Although it is not yet known, it is Bovada leaving Michigan It’s a done deal, Bovada has begun pulling customers away from other states, including Nevada, New Jersey and New York, in recent months due to concerns about regulations that have been passed in those states targeting offshore betting operations. But those states did not take affirmative action targeting Bovada like Michigan did.
So it’s certainly reasonable to expect states where Bovada is still fully operational to essentially follow what Michigan is doing. As noted above, there is a significant financial incentive for states to demonstrate to legal operators that they will do whatever is necessary to secure their market share in such a competitive industry, preventing illegal operators from siphoning off parts of the gambling population.
I would be important gambling news if Bovada, a long-time presence in the world of online sports gambling, were to further reduce its operations in the highly profitable US market, and that would serve as an additional deterrent to other illegal books as a sign that the regulatory framework is also doing it. difficult for them to operate safely without facing the harsh sanctions that could be imposed on them by the MGCB and other state agencies.
Interestingly, Bovada, so far, said it would not leave Michigan, as reported by a customer service representative for the website. Therefore, the website could be planning to fight back or even seek its own legal remedies to continue its operations in the state.
For gambling news, odds analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports magazine.
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