Michigan Online Sports Betting is Live: First Apps

The moment has finally arrived. Michigan is officially launching online and mobile sports betting on Friday, January 22, 2021.

Nine casinos and their online sports betting partners have been given the green light to launch by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, with more sites expected to be approved within the coming days.

To participate in online sports betting, a person must be at least 21 years of age. It’s not necessary to be a resident of Michigan to wager online at a Michigan sports betting site. That means people from neighboring Ohio and Canadians in Ontario, where sports betting remains illegal, could wager through a Michigan betting site.

However, the law requires that a person be physically within state lines to place a wager. Geopositioning software is built into the apps of the betting sites to determine the location of a bettor when they place their wager.

Let’s take a look at the nine sites that go live on Friday and what sorts of signup bonus offers they are dangling to attract new customers to wager with them. Their land-based casino partners are listed alongside the sites.

BetMGM :

To celebrate their Michigan launch, BetMGM app is providing new players from Michigan with $100 in free bets just for signing up.

New customers to BetMGM also start out with a risk-free bet worth up to a maximum of $500. To access this welcome bonus, players simply need to sign up, make a deposit and place their first wager. If the bet loses, they’ll receive the amount of that wager back in the form of free bets.  

BetRivers 

When newcomers signup at BetRivers Michigan, they will be able to garner a 100 percent matching first deposit bonus that’s worth up to $250. This bonus is provided in the form of free bet credits. One of the best perks about the BetRivers signup bonus is that there’s only a one-time playthrough requirement attached to the bonus funds. Use promo code MICHIGAMBLER to claim your promo.

Barstool Sportsbook

Barstool delivers a two-pronged signup offer to new players. They start out by providing a $10 no-deposit bonus just for joining their site. Then they add a $500 risk-free first bet offer. If the first bet you play at the Barstool Sportsbook loses, it’s refunded in the form of site credits up to $500.

DraftKings

To encourage pre-registration for their Michigan  mobile sports betting app, DraftKings offered anyone who signed up in advance a $100 bonus in the form of a free bet. This free credit must be used within seven days of the DraftKings site going live.

For those who missed out on that action, there’s another signup bonus currently on offer at DraftKings Michigan betting app built around events slated for the first weekend of Michigan online betting. New users can get 100-1 odds on either the AFC or NFC Championship Games, or wager on Conor McGregor to KO Dustin Poirier in the first round of their UFC 257 main event bout at 257-1. The standard DraftKings signup offer is 20 percent matching first deposit bonus worth up to $1,000 in site credits. A user’s first deposit of a minimum of $5 qualifies them to receive this bonus. A new player must deposit $5,000 to be eligible to receive the maximum possible bonus amount of $1,000.

FanDuel

FanDuel offered Michigan bettors a $50 sports betting free play if they pre-registered. FanDuel’s regular signup bonus offer is a $1,000 risk free first bet. Join FanDuel and make that first bet. If it loses, they'll give you a refund of up to $1000 in site credit within 72 hours.

Golden Nugget Online Gaming (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community)

New players to Golden Nugget’s online sportsbook receive $100 in free play as a signup bonus.

WynnBET 

New Patrons of WynnBET Michigan app who make a minimum deposit of not less than $20 and place an eligible sports wager within 10 days are eligible to receive a risk free sports bet up to a maximum value of $500.

If the first bet you play at WynnBET is a loser, they’ll refund the amount of the wager to your account in the form of a free bet and cover up to $500 in losses.