Michigan mobile betting sites have been given the green light to launch. Such a decision was made by the state’s lawmakers on December 1. Apart from signing off on regulations that are going to govern mobile betting in the state, the Michigan lawmakers also approved regulations regarding online casinos and daily fantasy sports (DFS) platforms.
Over in Nevada, people involved with the gaming business have been very enthusiastic about the COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to put an end to the crisis. Although the battle against the coronavirus is going to be a long process, everyone in Las Vegas seems to be looking forward to 2021.
Leading economic experts from Nevada held an online meeting on Wednesday, the conclusion of which was that the recession is going to be short-lived. According to them, Nevada should be able to get back on its feet next year.
More interesting gaming news are coming from Asia. In Japan, foreign residents will not have to pay any tax on their casino winnings. In Macau, the lawmakers are reportedly thinking about embracing cryptos at the expense of fiat currencies.
Michigan Mobile Betting Sites to Go Online in December
The first-ever online bet in Michigan is going to be placed by the need of the year – that’s according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), the state’s governmental body in charge of everything regarding the gaming business.
The MGCB is the agency that came up with a set of regulations regarding mobile betting and online casinos. Those regulations had to be approved by the Michigan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR). That’s exactly what happened last Wednesday.
The result is that the aforementioned forms of gambling are now legal and regulated in this state. The next step is for online gambling platforms to finally launch.
As soon as it happens, the residents of the Great Lake State will be able to bet on sports using their smartphones, as well as to play all sorts of casino games on web-based platforms.
All Three Detroit Casinos to Go Online
There are three commercial casinos in Detroit – MGM Grand, Greektown Casino, and MotorCity Casino Hotel. Each of these three is having a horrible year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Detroit’s casinos have spent most of the year behind locked doors.
Even today, the casinos are closed, following the decision of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) to keep the state in a lockdown until December 9, the earliest.
Better days are going to come for Detroit’s casinos. It’s all thanks to Michigan’s decision to give the green light to mobile betting and online casinos. All of these three casinos are planning to take their business online.
For that, the law requires them to partner up with established online gaming platforms. The partnerships are going to be carried away this way:
- MGM Grand Detroit is teaming up with BetMGM, a platform owned by its parent company.
- Greektown is going to use IGT’s services for its online casino, while its sportsbook is going to be powered by Barstool.
- MotorCity Casino and FanDuel are coming together to create an all-in-one online gaming platform, consisting of a virtual casino, sportsbook, and a DFS platform.
The launch of these platforms is meant to save Michigan’s fading casino industry. At the same time, it’s also expected to do good for the state’s budget. No matter how much tax the state collects from online gaming, it’s going to be better than what they got in Q2 – the three land-based casinos reported $0 in GGR during the Spring lockdown.
Nevadans Looking Forward to 2021
Unlike Michigan, Nevada has no intention of making online casinos legal. The reason is that this state is relying on its land-based casinos. Unfortunately, Nevada’s land-based casinos have been empty for most of 2020. The good news is that things are going to change in the near future.
With the first stage of COVID-19 vaccination ready to start in the next couple of weeks, the end of the pandemic is on the horizon. This, however, doesn’t mean everything will go back to normal straight away. Still, it will certainly help the economy to get back on its feet. At least that’s what leading economic experts from Nevada are saying.
On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Global Economics Alliance and UNLV’s Center for Business Economic Research teamed up to host an annual economic forecasting event called Outlook. The consensus of the event is that the worst is behind us, with the year 2021 expected to be way more fruitful for Nevada businesses than 2020.
According to them, the road to economic recovery is not going to be that long. In fact, some of them believe Nevada will rebound to its pre-pandemic levels within a year.
The same might not be the case in all US States, but the thing about Nevada is that its economy is reliant on tourism. With no tourists around due to COVID-19 restrictions, the state’s economy is bound to suffer.
However, with the vaccine curbing down the pandemic, large gatherings are going to become a thing once again. Furthermore, there won’t be any need for casino capacity reduction, which is currently set to 25%.
No Tax on Winnings for Foreigners in Japan’s Integrated Casino Resorts
In America, 2021 is the year for the rebirth of the gaming industry. Over in Japan, a new era is starting in 2022, with the launch of “integrated casino resorts.”
Although the work’s still being done, it appears that Japan’s casino concept is going to create an influx of foreign visitors. However, according to a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Akira Amari, that’s not enough. He believes integrated casino resorts need to provide more incentives to foreign gamblers.
His solution to this problem is tax exemption. Amari believes that ditching the tax on casino winnings would make Japan’s casinos more attractive to tourists. At the same time, he supports the taxation of domestic gamblers in the spirit of Japan’s anti-gambling philosophy.
Macau Regulators Thinking About Going Crypto?
If they weren’t, they’re definitely thinking about it after learning about Bloomberg’s story published on December 1.
The New York-based media company talked about alleged plans of Macau’s officials to embrace “digital yuan,” which would turn its casino industry into a cashless environment. Upon hearing about it, Macau officials responded by calling it “a false report.”
Nevertheless, the idea doesn’t seem that crazy following the recent surge the cryptocurrency world has been experiencing. As a reminder, Bitcoin broke its record from 2017, reaching $19,920.53 a few days ago.
In Macau, however, Bitcoin is not allowed, nor will it be anytime soon. However, the same probably isn’t going to apply to China’s state-controlled cryptocurrency DCEP a.k.a. digital yuan.
If Bloomberg’s story is true, the digital yuan could become the primary currency in Macau, effectively replacing the Macau pataca. Speaking of which, pataca is the official currency of the special administrative region, situated just across Hong Kong, whose currency (Hong Kong dollar) is also widely used in the city.
The reason why Macau would want to do this is to make it easier for visitors coming from mainland China. They often carry large amounts of cash with them, which they then need to convert from yuan to pataca to be able to gamble.
