The American Gaming Association of Michigan’s bill opposing Bovada comes as the industry organization is pushing for the federal government to pass its own offensive.
Intentionally or not, Michigan threw down the gauntlet.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board, by sending a suspension and desist letter to offshore Bovada sportsbooks this week for offering illegal online gambling, would have possibly set a precedent that other states would possibly feel compelled to follow.
At least that’s what the American Gaming Association (AGA) is hoping for, as the industry organization has been pushing for federal crackdowns on illegal and overseas gambling operators for years.
“The decisive action through the Michigan Gaming Control Board underscores that states have the strength to protect their citizens from predatory gambling sites abroad and is another vital step in winning the war against the illegal market,” said AGA President and CEO, Bill Miller, in a statement. Thursday. The Annual General Meeting applauds MGCB’s leadership of bad actors like Bovada and urges other states to follow Michigan’s lead. “
Miller’s comments come as the AGA, whose members include bet365, DraftKings and FanDuel, as well as a host of traditional gaming operators, has been pushing for the federal government to crack down on offshore gambling sites for some time.
In April 2022, Miller wrote to U. S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and asked the Justice Department to make a “strong and meaningful statement” investigating and charging the largest offshore operators, Bovada.
“This action would provide much-needed clarity that those Internet sites are fraudulent companies, which could help deter the American public from visiting those sites and encourage companies to take appropriate steps to ensure they do not visit them,” Miller said.
Bovada is widely found in the United States, with the exception of a few states: Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Delaware. But again, most Bovada and other offshore operators are available onshore.
According to the AGM, this has contributed to confusion among consumers. According to Miller’s letter, the organization’s studies showed that 74% of sports bettors said it was vital to use only legal providers, however, 52% still used illegal providers. Of those bettors, 63% said they were surprised to use illegal sites.
“Nationwide web searches for overseas sports logos grew 38% last year, faster than the expansion of searches for U. S. legal carriers. “”Logo searches abroad accounted for the majority of all sports searches,” Miller said. “Bovada alone accounts for 50% of all searches. “
The AGA released a study in late 2022 estimating that Americans gamble more than $400 billion a year at illegal and unregulated casino and sports sites, cutting states about $4. 6 billion in tax revenue.
Interestingly, the AGA said in 2022 that the Department of Justice “is the only law enforcement entity that can credibly address those illegal offshore sports and casinos,” not the states.
“While prosecutions and convictions can be difficult to obtain, the AGA strongly believes that the branch can achieve a strong and meaningful outcome by investigating and charging the largest offshore operations that blatantly violate federal and state laws,” Miller said.
But now it looks like the Michigan Gaming Control Board will send its own statement. The regulator said Bovada’s operator, Curacao-based Harp Media B. V. , has two weeks to prevent Michigan citizens from gambling on its websites, or the MGCB will take some sort of “legal action. “
It remains to be seen what exactly this action will be. This may not be the case either, as Bovada has shown that it will exit the US markets if Array
“The proliferation of online gaming platforms has led to increased scrutiny from regulators around the world, and this action is a clear warning to foreign corporations that non-compliance with local regulations will be tolerated,” MGCB CEO Henry Williams said in a press release. .