Michigan Gaming Control Board joins international illegal gambling awareness campaign
Regulation2 min read
The Michigan Gaming Control Board joined the International Association of Gaming Regulators’ Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, running from 9 to 13 November 2026, and will continue radio public-service announcements through the month. The regulator said the campaign urges residents to check licences and includes a tool for viewing licence information; it also cited a preliminary order barring Kalshi from offering sports-event contracts to Michigan residents.
Michigan's MGCB has joined the first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, an international campaign running from 9 to 13 November 2026, organised by the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR). The campaign involves regulators from several countries and encourages consumers to check operators' licences before gambling. In a 10 November statement, the MGCB said its radio public-service announcements would continue throughout the month.
A free tool launched alongside the campaign lets users enter a gambling platform's web address to check available licensing information in participating IAGR jurisdictions. The service, developed with regulatory technology company Sharp Vision, uses regulators' registers and other verified public sources.
MGCB executive director Henry Williams said unlicensed operators do not offer the protections of the regulated market, including age and identity checks, safeguards for winnings and access to complaints procedures. Licensed online casinos and sports betting operators in Michigan must restrict access to people aged 21 and over, protect player funds and personal data, use secure payment systems and provide deposit and time limits. They must respect entries on the state's Responsible Gaming Database self-exclusion system and allow users to take disputes to the MGCB.
The MGCB said it had sent hundreds of cease-and-desist orders to unlicensed online operators and was working with the Michigan attorney general's department against offerings considered illegal. The department obtained a preliminary order in September barring Kalshi from offering sports-event contracts to Michigan residents, the MGCB said. In October, Coinbase agreed to stop offering sports-event contracts, including those traded on Kalshi, to customers in the state, following a similar agreement with Robinhood. On 28 October, Polymarket US agreed under a federal court-approved settlement to stop offering new sports-event contracts in Michigan and close residents' open positions by 25 November. The MGCB said none of the four companies held its own licence from the regulator to accept sports bets in the state.
The MGCB advised consumers to check its official list of licensed platforms before registering, depositing money or providing personal information. It drew attention to sites that accept only cryptocurrency, promise guaranteed winnings or do not check identity, and said a professional appearance or social media promotion did not establish legality. The free, confidential Michigan Problem Gambling Helpline is available 24 hours a day on 1-800-GAMBLER, and people can register for the state's self-exclusion system.