Is sports betting legal in Michigan? Yes for apps, and courts keep Kalshi blocked

Yes. Sports betting is legal in Michigan for adults 21 and over. That covers retail sportsbooks and the online apps licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which have been live since January 2021. DraftKings and FanDuel are both legal in Michigan, along with BetMGM, Caesars, BetRivers, Fanatics, bet365 and Hard Rock Bet. The licensed apps cover the NBA, college football and the other major sports, so Wolverines and Spartans fans can use them too.

Our Michigan state guide covers the full list of operators, the law and the age rules. This story covers what has changed this fall. Most of it concerns prediction markets, which remain the legal gray area in the state.

Kalshi still blocked under the state injunction

Attorney General Dana Nessel's lawsuit against Kalshi is still in Ingham County Circuit Court. In early September, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina turned her earlier temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction. The order bars Kalshi from offering sports contracts to Michigan residents, as reported by the Michigan Advance. It also requires Kalshi to use a third-party geolocation service so it does not take sports positions from people in Michigan. Kalshi argues that Michigan lacks regulatory authority over a federally regulated exchange. A preliminary injunction is not a final ruling on the merits, but it is binding while the case continues.

The state has kept up the pressure since then. A prediction-market litigation tracker maintained by Mick Bransfield shows that Nessel's office asked the court in October to hold Kalshi in contempt over its advertising in the state. The tracker lists a hearing on that request for Nov. 24.

The federal courts have not helped Kalshi

Michigan is in the Sixth Circuit. In September, a three-judge panel there unanimously held that Ohio and Tennessee can enforce their gambling laws against Kalshi. Other appeals courts have since gone the same way. On Nov. 4, the Ninth Circuit denied Kalshi's request for rehearing in its Nevada case, Legal Sports Report reported. That leaves the U.S. Supreme Court as Kalshi's last route in that case, and Kalshi has 90 days to file. Sports Betting Dime noted that the denial leaves Kalshi open to enforcement under state gambling laws across the Ninth Circuit. Kalshi may still end up before the Supreme Court, but for now the appeals courts are siding with the states.

Where the other prediction markets stand

• Novig does not operate in Michigan. Arizona and Nevada are the only other states where it does not operate.
• Polymarket US does not offer sports contracts to Michigan residents. The Bransfield tracker also notes that a federal judge rejected Polymarket's bid for a preliminary injunction against the state.
• Kalshi is barred from offering sports contracts in Michigan under the Ingham County injunction.

That leaves Michigan fans who want a game market with the state-licensed sportsbooks. On this site, the price comparison for Michigan and Michigan State games is between those licensed books only. The prices on them move up to kickoff, so check the time attached to any number you see.

Daily fantasy and the rest of the law

Daily fantasy sports is also legal in Michigan. The state regulates paid fantasy contests through the Gaming Control Board under its own fantasy contests law. As with the sportsbooks, the safe rule is to use only operators the board licenses. The law itself has not changed this year. Online sports betting through licensed apps remains legal for adults 21 and over who are located in Michigan. Unlicensed offshore sites remain illegal, and the state has made clear it will enforce the law against platforms it considers unlicensed sportsbooks.

If gambling stops being fun, the problem-gambling helpline is 1-800-GAMBLER.