The first legal wagers have been placed in Michigan, after Penn National Gaming’s Greektown Casino and the MGM Grand Detroit opened their retail sportsbooks yesterday (March 11).
This comes after the Michigan Gaming Control Board gave the city’s three casinos the green light to launch on March 10.
Greentown’s roll out of a Kambi-powered sportsbook marked the supplier’s entry into a tenth US state. It came days after the entry to its ninth, Illinois, at Rush Street Gaming’s Rivers Casino Des Plaines.
In both Illinois and Michigan, Kambi’s partners took the first bets placed, which has been the case for eight of the ten states in which it is live.
“Kambi’s record for quality and swift delivery is central to our ongoing US progress, and we are delighted to have powered two more market firsts for our partners,” the supplier’s chief commercial officer Max Meltzer commented.
“When people look back at this historic period of legalising sports wagering across the US, they will see Kambi was the supplier powering the most firsts and our partners becoming the market leaders in their respective states,” Meltzer continued. “It’s all encompassed in our partner with confidence strategy.”
At the MGM Grand, the BetMGM Sports Lounge, powered by the operator’s Roar Digital joint venture with GVC Holdings, opened later on yesterday. It features over the counter betting, bar top video poker machines and wall-to-wall video screens. BetMGM self kiosks have also been rolled out throughout the property.
“Twenty years ago, MGM Resorts bet on the great City of Detroit with an $800m commitment to create the city’s first and only integrated luxury casino resort built from the ground up,” MGM Grand president and chief operating officer David Tsai said.
“We’ve been able to help stimulate the local and state economy by creating thousands of jobs, making substantial infrastructure investments, and contributing over $2.8 billion in tax revenue to the city and state since opening,” he continued.
“As the market leader in Detroit, we’re proud to be part of this groundbreaking moment for Michigan gaming and to bring a world-class sports betting and entertainment experience to our guests.”
MGM Resorts president of interactive gaming Scott Butera added that Michigan was home to some of the most enthusiasts sports fans in the US, and that Roar was excited to be launching in time for March Madness.
“We worked with the most creative design talent to create a world-class sports book and lounge with amenities that will give our guests an exciting sports viewing experience.”
MotorCity Casino will join MGM Grand and Greentown later today (March 12), when it opens a FanDuel-branded sports betting lounge. The lounge will will feature six betting windows, 67 high-definition screens, a VIP area and 54 of International Game Technology’s (IGT) PlaySports self-service betting kiosks.