‘Evolution Awaits Michigan Live Casino License’ (image source: pixabay.com)
The next state expected to offer live dealer iGaming in the USA is Michigan and lawmakers plus regulators are going directly to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) to push through approval.
Once the virtual doors are open for iGaming firms to offer online gambling services, Evolution should finally gain license approval leading the way for the live casino manufacturers 3rd live dealer studio in the USA creating an unstoppable US Evolution brand.
Evolution already has multiple deals with firms posed to leap into the Michigan iGaming market, which will become the 2nd largest iGaming state in the country just behind Pennsylvania in terms of population market reach. The brand’s partnership list spreads to PointsBet, DraftKings, Unibet (Kindred) Group, BetMGM, Caesars/William Hill, Penn National/Barstool, along with FanDuel and Wynn Resorts.
With Unibet (Kindred Group) already eyeing up the Michigan market and awaiting license approval, Pragmatic Play also has a door into the US market and in particular, Michigan, as Evolution still has no guaranteed stronghold in the sates.
A recent deal between Kindred Group and Pragmatic Play may present an avenue for Evolution’s biggest rival in the live casino market to open a Pragmatic Play live dealer studio in the US. Bigwigs controlling online gambling legislation are likely to quickly approve any Pragmatic Play Live licensing application because it would help avoid any potential monopoly issues. With Evolution, along with its eZugi brand, dominating the US live casino market, adding more brands in the name of fair competition is an ethical practice in all US industry. For now, we already know Evolution is going through the license approval process in MI while Pragmatic Play has not yet made its US intentions if any, known. That said, it seems likely Pragmatic Play will make a move soon as the developer already operates online slots in the country. Therefore, it would make perfect sense to extend into the live casino vertical in the Michigan state.
Why the sudden rush after a yearlong wait?
It is almost a year since the Michigan legislator passed online gambling by law, yet it is only now that the drive to finally bring Michigan’s online gambling industry to the public is finally in a position to ‘go live’.
One of the key reasons the state is in favour of pushing through approval to ‘go live’ is unrelated to iGaming. It is the online sports betting leading the way because the Superbowl is just around the corner and the NBA season about to kick-off. As with all online gambling deals in the USA, aggregators and operators must agree on a partnership with a licensed land-based gambling establishment.
With COVID-19 severely affecting casino revenue in the state, the up and coming Super Bowl which conjures the largest sports betting revenue for a single event in a year in states where sports betting is legal, casinos in MI will profit immensely. That also means the state itself benefits with much needed additional tax revenue. As the iGaming licensing process in MI is tied in with the sports betting industry, online casinos are set to take full advantage.
The state already has multiple casino operators with sports betting and casino platforms ready to go live. AGS LLC, GeoComply Solutions, Inc were some of the first companies to obtain licenses with GeoComply providing the ‘Geolocation’ software that casino platforms will need to use to ensure citizens in Michigan are gambling within state borders.
High 5 Games, known for its online video slots, also has a provisional licence after signing partnership agreements with Wynn Interactive.
Launch before Christmas or New Year is on the cards
Usually, there is a 15-day trial and review waiting period before the licensing boards approve newly regulated markets to open for business. This means putting new online casino laws to the test which would result in waiting until well after the New Year for an official launch of the Michigan online gambling market.
However, as other states such as Pennsylvania already prove new online gambling systems work, a Michigan legislative committee (JCAR) is allowing the lawmakers and regulators to bypass a routine waiting period in order to allow online casinos to offer iGaming services immediately. The final approval now weighs on the shoulders of the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) whose only tasks now is to approve individual operators to go live.
While Evolution has not indicated that it already has a live dealer studio ready to set up in the state of Michigan, we can assume there is already a potential deal lined up for ‘ready-to-fo’ studio space as soon as the MGCB approve licensing. Evolution already has live studios in New Jersey and Pennsylvania plus eZugi studios and as such the process for getting the Evolution Michigan operations up running means we could expect to see Evolution in Michigan with Q1 of 2021.
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