- Michigan legalized online sports betting in 2021 following U.S. Supreme Court ruling
- Since then, online gambling has brought in significant tax revenue, but has also led to an increase in addiction.
- Advocacy group gives Michigan an F- for efforts to prevent gambling addiction
As online gambling grows in popularity, Michigan does less than other states to help people addicted to gambling.
Michigan, which received a failing grade from advocacy groups for its efforts to protect gamblers, collected $624.6 million from online gambling last year, including $27.1 million in taxes and fees from sports betting. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed a per-stakes tax aimed at bringing in even more revenue.
But very little of that money goes toward preventing addictions that result from easy access to gambling money. This year, the state allocated $9.5 million for gambling addiction services.
Other states with online betting, including Iowa, Massachusetts and Tennessee, have taken measures such as banning the use of credit cards on sports betting apps. But the state of Michigan has given it an F- rating for addiction protections, allowing online gaming platforms to offer bets even to people who exhibit addictive behavior, according to the Center for Addiction Science, Policy and Research.
Carly Abramson, a researcher with the Michigan Citizens Research Council, said problem gambling is likely to continue to increase unless the state implements additional guardrails to prevent significant economic damage or mechanisms to curb gambling and sports betting addiction.
“There is no reason to think this problem will resolve itself,” she said.
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Legalized online gambling has triggered a flood of gambling in Michigan, with $3.8 billion in 2025, including $671.3 million in online sports betting, an increase of nearly 30% from 2024, according to state records.
Along with that gambling is an increase in gambling addiction and the associated economic hardship. The state’s Gambling Addiction Helpline receives thousands of calls each year, and bankruptcy attorneys say they are seeing an increase in cases related to online gaming.
Detroit attorney Walter Metzen said one of his clients racked up nearly $200,000 in debt through online sports betting, and another was betting $20,000 on a single football game.
“In the last few years alone, at least a dozen players I can think of have said they’ve reached their limit,” Metzen said. “They were burning friendships by borrowing money from friends to feed their addictions.”
“Ready to use, unlimited”
It all started in 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a 1992 federal law that banned sports betting.
Since then, states across the country have legalized sports betting, and a wave of disrespect has followed. Professional athletes have reported harassment from fans who lost money gambling at games, including death threats reported by The Athletic.
Gambling in Michigan was previously limited to a few casinos in the state, but with the legalization of online gambling, anyone with a smartphone now has 24-hour access to virtual blackjack tables and sportsbooks.
“Part of the problem is that the ease of access to online sports betting is different than access to other types of vices and recreational products that can lead to addictive behavior,” said Abramson of the Citizens Research Council. “It’s just on our phones, instantly available, and unlimited.”
For some gamblers, having ready access to gambling has proven to be financially devastating.
“At first, you might deplete your savings and take down your 401(k), start borrowing from friends and family, take out online loans and credit cards, but eventually the pyramid collapses and you can’t borrow anymore,” said Metzen, a Detroit bankruptcy attorney.
Last year, researchers at Southern Methodist University found that calls to national gambling helplines increased by 75% after the legalization of online sports betting. The same group of researchers reported that rates of irresponsible gambling (defined as spending more than 1% of income on gambling) increased the most among low-income people.
Last year, the state received 3,393 gambling-related calls to its gambling disorder helpline, according to public records requests filed with the state.
Matthew Frey, a Saginaw bankruptcy attorney, said some bankruptcy cases fail because debtors continued to gamble during bankruptcy.
“If you spend all your money gambling, you won’t be able to pay your monthly plan,” Frey says. “They complain they don’t have money to eat, so we ask them, ‘So what’s going to happen?'” And it’s going to go to DraftKings. It secretly lets people know how much money they’re siphoning off, but they just don’t realize until it’s too late. ”
Paul Baer, a Traverse City bankruptcy attorney, said gambling-related bankruptcies, where the debtor owes about $70,000 in gambling debt, are typical.
“But eventually you have to live with other cards to pay off the card, and that’s where the cycle ends,” Baer said.
failing grade
Michigan has several programs to help people with gambling problems.
For example, when Michigan legalized online gambling, the Michigan Gaming Control Commission introduced a new program called the Responsible Gambling Database. This program allows individuals to add their name to a list of people who cannot create an online gambling account.
Since the program was implemented in 2021, the number of people self-excluding has increased every year. In 2021, 78 people self-excluded from online gambling. In 2025, 1,644 people were on the online gambling self-exclusion list.
A similar program exists at three Detroit casinos, called the “Disassociated Persons List.” People on this list could be arrested for trespassing if they enter a Detroit casino. Since the list began in 2001, 4,244 people have self-excluded from in-person gambling at Detroit casinos.
Still, advocates say more needs to be done.
In March, the Center for Addiction Science, Policy and Research ranked Michigan 49th out of 52 states and territories (F grade) for online gambling protections. CASPR gave Michigan a low ranking in part due to the state’s lack of mechanisms to prevent addiction and bankruptcy, particularly the ability of sportsbook operators to offer bets to individuals who show signs of gambling addiction.
The ranking also noted that Michigan’s taxes on online gambling are “unusually low.”
CASPR recommended legislation that would prohibit gamblers from using credit cards on gambling apps and mandate a “forced cooling period” for gamblers who lose more than $500 within 30 days.
Several major sportsbooks have recently banned credit card payments through their apps. DraftKings will stop accepting credit cards in August 2025, FanDuel will stop accepting credit cards on March 2, and BetMGM announced it will begin phasing out credit card payments on March 31.
In November, Sen. Erica Geis, D-Taylor, introduced two bills that would impose stricter regulations on sports gambling and Internet gambling advertising in Michigan, including banning targeted gambling advertising to individuals under 21.
“The proliferation of sports betting and online gambling has led to a proliferation of marketing campaigns that glamorize gambling and downplay the dangers of addiction, reaching impressionable audiences too young to participate legally,” Geis wrote in an email to Bridge Michigan. “Designs such as bright lights, flashing colors, catchy slogans, and celebrity endorsements reflect tactics used by tobacco companies to make their products look cool and appeal to minors, leading to countless harmful consequences and generations of addicted customers.”
The Citizens Research Council recommended banning prop bets and banning sports betting companies from using algorithms to offer customized bets based on users’ betting history.
Metzen, a bankruptcy lawyer whose son attends Michigan State University, said his son’s friends have taken up sports betting, and some have won thousands of dollars on longshot parlays.
“I guarantee you he made 100 bets before he won the parlay, you know?” Metzen said. “He’s not talking about the money he lost.”
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