MGCB orders 33 offshore gambling operators to cease Michigan activity

Cease-and-desist letters have been issued by the Michigan Gaming Control Board to 33 offshore gambling operators. Agency investigations concluded that each of them was providing casino-style games, sweepstakes-style games or sports betting to people in Michigan without holding a state license. The MGCB disclosed the action in a statement released on a Thursday.

The letters went to the operators of Azartzona Casino, Basepoker, BingoMania, BitofGold, Cryptoplay, Del Oro Casino, Detective Slots, Donbet, Exclusive Casino, Genie Jackpot, Guangzhou Snail Interactive Technology Co., Ltd., Immersion Casino Online, iWild Casino, JacksPay, Jurassic Slots, L0tt0, Lucky Charm Sweep, Lucky Rebel and Magicianbet. The MGCB said other recipients were mBit Casino, Odds Maker, Raging Bull Slots, Regal Casino and Sportsbook (also known as Wager Street), Ronin Slots, Runewager, Slot Paradise, Sloto Tribe, Sloto’Cash Online Casino, Spin Dinero, SpinsTopia, Stardust, SunnySpins Casino and The Online Casino.

Under Michigan rules, licensed operators must comply with the Internet Gaming and Sports Betting Responsible Gaming Database, a system through which individuals can voluntarily bar themselves from online gambling. No equivalent duty applies to offshore operators. The MGCB noted that someone who has opted to stop gambling may nevertheless register, make a deposit and wager at an unlicensed site, frequently unaware that the site falls outside Michigan law.

MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams said: “Choosing to self-exclude is one of the hardest and most courageous decisions a person can make, and in Michigan’s legal market, that choice is respected.” He added: “Offshore sites don’t respect it. They will take a deposit from someone who has asked for help and the MGCB has no way to help that person get it back.” Williams said the 33 letters put operators “on notice that our residents are not an untapped market and that anyone who thinks they can ignore our protections will hear from us.”

The MGCB pointed to national research as evidence that offshore gambling is common. An August 2025 analysis by the American Gaming Association (AGA) put the amount Americans wager annually with illegal and unregulated operators, offshore sites among them, at $673.6 billion. That analysis also reported a 22% expansion of the illegal market compared with the AGA’s prior report in 2022, attributing part of the rise to a sharp increase in illegal online-casino play.

That study also showed a shift among online-casino players toward the illegal market. The proportion who used legal sites exclusively declined from 52% in 2022 to 24%, and close to half of players now use both legal and illegal sites, nearly triple the earlier figure. In addition, the AGA estimated that bets worth $84 billion were placed with illegal bookies and offshore sportsbooks during the year the study covered, and that one in 10 sports bettors place wagers solely through illegal sources.

The MGCB also referenced earlier AGA consumer research, which found that most bettors who wagered mainly with illegal operators were mistaken about where their money went. Among that group, 70% thought they were using legal sportsbooks only, or believed they divided their betting evenly between legal and illegal outlets.