Possible Draftkings app for Michigan horse racing – fair races

The acquisition of DK Horse would boost Michigan's horse racing profits. The sort of gaming earned $3.1 million in tax revenue in 2021, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board. (MGCB). 

To put things in perspective, Michigan online casino generated $202 million in taxes and fees in 2021. Online sports bettors donated $7 million last year. 

With the launch of DraftKings Horse, Michigan taxpayers may also enjoy the fruits of their labor. According to the MGCB, the state's horse racing industry received around $5 million in taxes from Michigan online gaming enterprises in 2021. 

DK HORSE AND MICHIGAN HORSE RACING

Twenty-three states already permit online sportsbooks, with Ohio set to launch on January 1st. DraftKings is expanding into new states that have authorized online sports betting, despite pari-mutuel betting typically being a federal problem. Additionally, DraftKings asserts that the new DK Horse app will soon be integrated into its current promos. 

Residents of Michigan will likely be able to use the standalone app before the Kentucky Derby in May. On that day, a countrywide rollout is anticipated, according to DraftKings. 

Since the internet gambling industry began on January 22, 2021, both DraftKings Casino and DraftKings Sportsbook have been accepting bets in Michigan. According to the now-defunct Catena Media website Online Poker Report, it went live within the first 15 minutes of legal gaming. A Catena brand is MichiganSharp. 

One of the Big Three operators in Michigan and the United States is the app on the Bay Mills Resort and Casino license. DraftKings Casino had gross gaming revenue of $23 million in October (GGR). 

Alyson Andrules, the DraftKings communications manager, reacted to MichiganSharp today when asked if DK Horse would be visiting Michigan: 

DK HORSE is anticipated to debut in 21 states over the next months in anticipation of obtaining the required licenses and regulatory approvals. 

DraftKings Horse will probably need to be a separate app when it launches because of horse racing wagers and legal requirements.

“Users must register and make deposits for DK HORSE separately from those made to their one account and one wallet that is connected to the DraftKings Sportsbook, Casino, and daily fantasy sports applications during the initial launch of the game. Later, we'll state the addition of DK HORSE to the lineup of products offered by DraftKings.”

Said DraftKings.

THE BEST IN MICHIGAN IS DIFFERENT IN HORSE RACING

Online gambling services are straightforward to navigate once gamers become acquainted with the brands. Michigan's primary online gambling businesses are BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel. 

Michigan horse racing is not like anything else. 

Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI), TVG, and XpressBet are the horse racing betting intermediates that are now accessible in Michigan. Northville Downs, the state's lone racetrack, claims to collaborate with TwinSpires and TVG. XpressBet, according to MGCB documents, also offers horse racing betting services through the harness racing facility. 

TwinSpires Racing is still provided by TwinSpires, which CDI owns. In contrast to what happened on September 6, when CDI shut down TwinSpires Sportsbook and Casino, 888 provided SI Sportsbook to sports bettors the next day. 888 has yet to propose a return option for an online casino on the Hannahville Indian Community's license. However, it may happen very soon. 

This does not suggest that CDI has departed Michigan. 

On September 8, CDI released the following notice:

Beginning in January 2023, FanDuel will pay United Tote Company ("United Tote") for the CDI technology and services needed to allow pari-mutuel betting on FanDuel's platforms in the US, including FanDuel Sportsbook and TVG. 

A partner of both FanDuel Casino and FanDuel Sportsbook is the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Michigan. 

FanDuel is one of the five US-based online gaming sites owned by Flutter Entertainment.

• FanDuel

• PokerStars

• Fox Bet

• TVG

Stardust still needs to be made available in Michigan.

TAX DOLLARS ARE USED TO ASSIST MICHIGAN HORSE RACING

According to an MGCB study from February 2022, the $5 million revenue from online casinos and sportsbooks with non-tribal taxes that operate in Michigan increased the Agriculture Equine Industry Development Fund (AEIDF). 

The MGCB claims that AEIDF serves the following objectives: 

The fund promotes horse racing and other equine activities in the state, as well as horse breeding in Michigan and research that helps the industry. The AEIDF also covers the MGCB's regulatory expenditures, such as employees for races, licenses, and blood testing.

According to Henry Williams, the MGCB Executive Director:

The fund's revenue increased from $2.3 million in 2019 to $2 million in 2020 to $8.2 million in 2021. 

In January 2021, Michigan will formally allow internet casinos, poker rooms, and sportsbooks. According to MGCB, the fund has already received tax money from "online wagering and simulcast gambling on horse races." 

The simulcast wagering tax of 3.5 percent brought in $1.8 million in 2021. A 1% tax on CDI, TVG, and XpressBet during the same year generated $1.3 million, according to the MGCB. 

Instead of the live races that are taking place in front of them, the majority of horse racing wagers at Northville Downs are placed on simulcast races, which are subject to a 3.5% tax. While $1.9 million was bet on live Michigan horse racing in 2021, $53 million was bet on simulcast events.

AGENDA FOR MICHIGAN HORSE RACING BILLS 

HB 6501 amends the Horse Racing Law of 1995 by adding two paragraphs to cover live Michigan horse racing. 

According to a proposed amendment introduced to the House yesterday:

The racing commissioner may provide a race meeting license to a county fair in this state. This legislation allows for live horse races with pari-mutuel betting to be staged at county fairs with race meeting licenses. In order to be approved to organize a racing meeting, a county fair must meet each of the following requirements: 

(a) A county fair that wishes to arrange a horse race meeting must apply to hold live horse racing for at least 20 days before the planned race meeting:

(b) To organize a horse race meeting, a county fair must apply with at least eight live horse races scheduled for each racing day and at least eight horses in each race.

If a county fair with a race meeting license is unable to schedule and execute at least six live horse races on a racing day given to the licensee owing to the lack of six or more entries in a race, the licensee shall not engage in any pari-mutuel wagering or simulcasting on the day in the issue. 

HB 6499, the second bill submitted yesterday, would alter how the Horse Racing Advisory Commission distributes the AEIDF funds. 

The bill's proponent, Hanover state representative Julie Alexander, did not respond to MichiganSharp's request for comment on them today.