The best MI online casinos and their apps 2023

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1 DraftKings casino review	93/100 Expert rating by Anna M. 89% Playscore based on 8 critics	100% up to $2,000 or $100 in casino credit	Play now	Show more Good to know 540+ games No deposit bonus Stellar deposit options 9 payment methods Play now Show less
2 BetMGM casino review	87/100 Expert rating by Ian Z. 91% Playscore based on 8 critics	100% up to $1,000 + $25 Free Play MCW1000	Play now	Show more Good to know MI top score – bonus + payout Regular casino promotions Most payment methods in MI 14 payment methods Play now Show less
3 Caesars casino review	85/100 Expert rating by Ian Z. 86% Playscore based on 8 critics	100% up to $1,000 + $10 sign-up and 2,500 Reward Credits TIME2PLAYCAS	Play now	Show more Good to know Caesars Rewards loyalty program Quick registration Over 800 games 10 payment methods Play now Show less
4 BetRivers casino review	78/100 Expert rating by Claire S. 85% Playscore based on 8 critics	Bonus Money reload up to $500 CASINOBACK	Play now	Show more Good to know 500+ games in Michigan No deposit bonus for MI players Daily free bingo 8 payment methods Play now Show less

The above list consists of only legal casinos which have been vetted and reviewed by our experts. They are ranked according to how much they offer Michigan online casinos state players. We look at everything from how easy it is to sign up to what the payout rate is.

We do not only list online casinos in Michigan that we like but we also take into account what players are after. We’ll talk more about how we choose casinos in Michigan further down.

The top three Michigan casinos – our expert picks

Sifting through several different casino sites can be time-consuming, especially when you just want to get to the good stuff. Our experts have combed through the different Maryland casinos ourselves, looking at the different bonuses, game offerings, payment methods and overall showing, to find the best three casinos for you.

🥇#1 Best overall: DraftKings

Recognized as one of the largest online casinos, DraftKings is a well-established US casino brand that proudly presents an extensive catalog of over 1,000 games.

On top of this expansive game library, DraftKings offers an enticing welcome bonus, exclusive games, and exceptional customer support. Notably, it stands as one of the very few casinos to achieve a perfect 100 in our casino reviews for its outstanding customer service.

🥈#2 Best for games: BetMGM

BetMGM holds a prominent position in the iGaming market, renowned for its extensive game library of over 1000+ titles.

This scale translates into a wealth of ongoing promotions for players. BetMGM consistently rewards its loyal clientele with a diverse range of 10+ bonuses, exclusively within its casino offerings.

The icing on the cake is the attractive welcome bonus, which showers players with a 100% deposit match, up to a generous $1,000, along with a complimentary $25 free play. The associated wagering requirements stand at 1x for $25 and 15x for $1,000. Most games are eligible, except for a select few jackpots, making cashing out a swift and straightforward process.

🥉#3 Best new casino: Caesars

Caesars may be an established brand, but it’s recent relaunch of its online casino has completely revitalized it. The site is now better then ever, with more games, better bonuses, and better security.

What makes it stand out in this state is its unique bonus for Michigan, awarding a $100 gas card as well as the standard 100% up to $2,000 for Caesars online casino.

The complete list of licensed MI online casinos

The compiled list consists not only of reputable casinos but of MI online casinos which are very popular with players.

That said, what players individually prefer and value in their casinos is important too, so we’ve compiled a list of specific MI online casino category winners for those who value particular games, the best Michigan online casino bonuses, or even a specific software. These have been vetted following strict criteria which we will be covering later on.

How to choose — Michigan considerations

At Time2play, we help people find their perfect Michigan online gambling site by giving expert ratings on the different aspects of each casino — each score is out of 100. We also incorporate user reviews to ensure things are as transparent as possible.

Our scoring criteria are based on things that matter to players, therefore, we take a look at factors like what kind of bonuses are offered and whether or not there are a decent amount of payment options for players to use. We never, ever change rating criteria to favor one casino over another.

If all the MI-based casinos aren’t enough for you, you can also get your hands on our top list of sweepstakes casinos, which are available in almost every state.

1. MI online casino bonuses

I would have liked to say that Michigan is rolling out the red carpet when it comes to bonuses, but the truth is that online casino bonuses are pretty standard throughout America, and Michigan casino bonuses are no different. If anything, it’s New Jersey that gets the most bonus opportunities as it has been the state which has legalized online casinos for the longest.

When it comes to the types of deposits offered at Michigan top online casinos, deposit matches are the most common form of bonus offers. Our highest scores always go to casinos that don’t just offer 100% matches on first deposits but also throw in some free spins or free money.

Average casinos tend to throw out $350-$750 in deposit matches, and often as little as $10 in free cash if any at all. MI has operators like DraftKings, who’ll go up to $2,000 + $500. 

• Offers deposit matches of up to $2,000
• Offers a number of different bonuses

• Doesn’t get special bonuses

2. Online casino games MI

While good NJ casinos tend to offer between 300 – 500 games, states like Michigan and Pennsylvania tend to provide quite a bit less as they are both still evolving in the online casino sector. You can see this particularly in Michigan’s best-performing casino – Golden Nugget. While NJ Golden Nugget has 938 games in total, MI Golden Nugget online casino only has 334.

That said, just because they offer a lower overall amount than New Jersey, it doesn’t mean that they lack variety. MI Golden Nugget online casino offers almost as many game variations as its New Jersey counterpart, it’s just the number which is smaller.

3. MI casinos software

When it comes to software, it’s not only important that you have providers but that the providers you have are one’s of quality. We like to see big names such as NetEnt and IGT, and usually see around 10-15 providers in MI which is kind of average compared to the 20+ at NJ’s big names.

As with games and payment methods, Michigan tends to have less software options available to it than its New Jersey counterparts. Golden Nugget NJ, for example, offers 25 software options to players while its Michigan twin only provides 12. Of course, it comes to follow that the fewer providers you have, the fewer games you will have at your disposal.

Although there is less choice in Michigan, that doesn’t translate into a lack of variety. Michigan online casinos still have live game sections — they’re just not as vast as elsewhere. In BetMGM NJ there are 16 live casino games to BetMGM Michigan’s 5 – and while BetMGM NJ has a mix of Ezugi and Evolution live casinos, BetMGM MI just have Evolution as a software provider.

• Decent number of software providers
• Has a number of high-quality software providers
• Most Michigan casinos have at least 1 live software provider

4. MI online casino payment methods

Although New Jersey casinos tend to offer anything between 6 and 15 payment options, the same cannot be said for Michigan. That said, Michigan online casinos do boast quality over quantity, with payment options such as Play+, Paysafe, PayNearMe, and Paypal being among their offerings. The biggest payment offering in MI, by far, is BetMGM’s 10.

Of course, that may not sound nearly enough, but Michigan is a very new market for online casinos, and we’re sure this will improve with time.

Thankfully, Michigan online casinos players don’t have to worry about deposit and withdrawal fees. They’re uncommon nationwide, and MI is no exception.

• Most casinos don’t charge a deposit or withdrawal fee
• Fast deposit times
• Reputable payment methods

4.1 Payouts at Michigan online casinos

When looking at the payout factor, one of players’ major preoccupations is how fast a casino will payout. At Time2play, we have done the dirty work for you and provided you with a list that will tell you just how long you’ll have to wait on average to get your money. From our research, BetRivers payouts are the fastest. BetMGM takes triple the amount of time to give players their return. 24 – 72 hours is fairly average for the US, so MI lands right in the middle, having offerings on both ends.

As to who has the highest payout limits, this is a lot trickier as casinos tend to keep information like this under lock and key.

5. Safety at online casinos in MI

Part of the reason why it took an additional year for online casinos to open in Michigan after the state governor signed off on legalizing them in 2019 is that the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) was putting mechanisms into place in order to ensure player safety. The MGCB not only has a very comprehensive website that has all the information that you’ll need on it, but it also has a list of all the legal offline and online casinos in Michigan. Furthermore, all online casinos in Michigan are affiliated with physical casinos, and this ups the safety factor. The MGCB also regulated Michigan online sports betting.

It is interesting to note that while the MGCB does take on the most work when it comes to giving out licenses to Michigan online casinos, it employs other entities for added security. An example of this is when it contracted Gaming Laboratories International to test and certify a number of both mobile sports betting and online casino games before they went online. MGCB has also contracted BMM Testlabs to verify various games.

Ultimately, if a casino is on the MGCB site, it’s safe, and if it’s available in multiple states like Golden Nugget, BetRivers, and BetMGM are, then you can rest easy in the knowledge that multiple regulators have cross-checked it. If you’re looking for more casinos that are 100% trusted and secure, head over to our list of safest online casinos.

6. Michigan mobile casinos

Like in any other state where online casinos are available, Michigan’s game offering is smaller on mobile than on desktop. That said, a good mobile site will always offer between 50-80% of what there is on desktop — but there needs to be a substantial amount on desktop to begin with.

Of course, we expect online casino apps to be workable on both Apple and Android products, and on this MI online casinos deliver — to be honest, it would be pretty bad if they didn’t, given the novelty of the market.

We rate on aspects such as whether the online casino apps are smooth or glitchy and if they are easy to use or not, for example; whether they contain a complex filtering system to sort games by maker, type, or expected payout. We also give good ratings to casinos that offer bonuses for mobile, but we have yet to see those at the casinos on our site. You can learn more on our mobile casinos page.

6.1 MI online casino apps

Since the Michigan online casino market was launched in 2019 and the state was well-prepared for it, it meant that several MI online casinos had the opportunity to launch very decent online casino apps. Below we have compiled a list of all the online casinos currently operating in Michigan and whether or not they have an app.

7. Customer support at MI casinos

If there’s something that the best casinos in the industry understand the importance of, it’s customer service. Michigan is no straggler in this department.

At Time2play, we are suckers for that 24/7 customer service. We believe that players should be able to reach their casinos of choice by phone, live chat, and email. We also appreciate a detailed FAQ page because it means that we can take care of smaller problems by ourselves. More details in our breakdown of online casino reviews.

Of course, out of all three main channels, live chat is the one we give the most weight to. We test this multiple times per casino, but there are variations that depend on how busy the casino is at that particular time and the support agent’s speed when resolving issues.

Our highest points go to those casinos that make it easy for you to get in touch with them — we don’t like to do the impossible just to get the most basic answers. We also give extra points to those casinos which allow you to chat with them even if you’re not a registered player, we appreciate the transparency and accessibility that offers.

Special types of MI online casinos

Michigan has 13 online platforms when you combine both casino and sports betting, and while that’s not a vast number, there is a lot of variation between one and another. One of the latest things to happen in the MI online casino scene was that Evolution was permitted to livestream real-time casino table games with live dealers from a Southfield studio.

All the casinos on Time2play are both legal and licensed — everything else is down to individual preference. We dive into some of the special types of casinos that players usually like to visit.

New MI casinos

Michigan is still fresh when it comes to online casinos in general, therefore, all the online casinos that we’ve mentioned so far can pretty much be classified as a new casino, having been launched in  2020/21.

All the MI online casinos and sportsbooks that launched in the past couple of years have been heavily vetted. BetMGM online casino currently offers Michigan players the best bonuses, and it only went live in January 2021 ( the same period as Golden Nugget).

This is just the beginning of online casinos in Michigan’s story, and we look forward to seeing how it will develop in the future. Keep an eye out for those special welcome bonuses!

Latest MI casinos

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Real money casinos

All the Michigan casinos on our site are real money casinos. That said, some casinos offer free play — it’s all down to your own choices as a player.

The fact that many players still specifically search for real money casinos goes back to a time when real money online gambling sites were illegal in the US, and players were turning to offshores for their games. Of course, even though things have changed, that doesn’t mean that all casinos are created equal.

So, what makes one spot a better real money casino than another? There are plenty of factors & features and factors that can impact the outcome of your play — we’ve listed down a few real money casinos and some of their  top player-friendly features in the real money bracket.

Michigan offline casinos

Michigan is characterized by an overwhelming number of 23 tribal casinos out of a total of 26 land-based casinos in Michigan. Detroit is the home of Michigan’s commercial casinos, and the MGM Grand, Greektown Casino, and MotorCity Casino Hotel are all situated there.

In reality, Michigan’s casino story is not a very old one, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community opened a small casino in a garage in Zeba called ‘The Pines’ only 38 years ago, and the other tribes slowly but surely followed in their footsteps. One of Michigan’s claims to fame is the fact that the ‘Kings Club Casino’ was the first tribally owned casino in all the US.

Michigan’s commercial casinos were opened much later, with MGM Grand and MotorCity Casino opening in 1999 and Greektown in 2000.

Although online casinos are currently the talk of the town, it’s important to note that online operators are directly linked to physical offline casinos in Michigan. Whether they are tribal or commercial, each offline casino has an online platform provider which they hold a license for.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s going on in the Michigan casino scene.

Michigan’s legal situation

Online gambling and online sports betting were legalized in 2019, however, Michigan online casinos didn’t actually open until a year later, as regulators spent 2020 compiling the rules and framework needed to support the new online casino platforms. This was just a year behind WV online casinos, which went live in 2019, and MI is already well caught up in terms of casino offerings.

Thanks to the example set by New Jersey, Michigan gambling laws are comprehensive and cover both online gambling and sports betting. Michigan is a very young market, so we are looking forward to seeing how things will develop in the next few years — we foresee a lot of new online casinos.

Here’s a brief look at how the state’s legal gambling situation has changed over time.

01

1972

The state lottery is launched after a constitutional amendment is approved by voters.

02

1983

The first tribal community casino is opened by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

03

1996

The launch of three licensed, commercial casinos in Detroit is approved.

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04

1997

The Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act is signed. The 3 commercial casinos cluster in Detroit — MGM, MotorCity, and the Greektown are regulated by the MGCB.

05

2018

Governor Rick Snyder vetoes a number of bills to legalize online casinos and sports betting.

06

2019

Governor Gretchen Whitmer signs the Lawful Internet Gaming Act and the Lawful Sports Betting Act – online casinos, sports betting, fantasy sports, and online poker are legalized.

07

2020

The cluster of 3 commercial casinos in Detroit open Michigan’s first in person sportsbooks. Pandemic restrictions kick in and they have to temporarily shut down.

08

2020

FireKeepers Casino opens Michigan’s first tribal casino sportsbook called Dacey’s Sportsbook.

09

2021

On 22nd January, 8 online casinos and 10 sports betting sites launch in Michigan.

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If the way the Michigan online casino history has developed is of interest to you, you can always visit our Michigan online gambling page for a more detailed look at how things have evolved.

While Michigan is growing at the fast pace that it is, it is interesting to think of the future. And the best place for that remains Europe where online casinos have managed to put down roots for a lot longer.

How Michigan makes money from casinos

Since being legalized in 2019, MI online casinos have gone from strength to strength, perhaps surprising given the way the pandemic swept through the globe. Happily, Michigan’s online casino success has been able to give the state the financial push it needs in a dark time.

In April of 2021, the MGCB announced that online operators had reported almost $100 million in gross receipts for online gambling and one-fifth of that amount in gross receipts for sports betting. This gave the state nearly $20 million in payments in April alone. This money is helping to boost the Michigan economy and give back to the community.

Four Winds Casinos, which is affiliated with the Pala Interactive platform, continues to contribute a chunk of their casinos’ revenue to help develop their community further.

• Online gambling operator tax rates are between 20-28%
• Sports betting operator tax rates are between 8.4-11.4%
• Monthly tax revenue averages $15,444,961.84 (avg. taken 09/2021)
• Annual tax revenue averages $139,0004,654.26 (avg. taken 09/2021)

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