Michigan gambling regulator sends cease-and-desist letters to 33 offshore operators

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has put 33 offshore gambling operators on notice for allegedly offering online casino games, sports betting, and sweepstakes services without state approval. For high-risk payment teams, the useful part is simple: Michigan is drawing a line between regulated play and offshore platforms that do not have to offer the same controls, including self-exclusion tools.

1. The MGCB said the operators were serving Michigan residents without authorization and warned that unlicensed platforms may not provide safeguards available in the regulated market. That matters for PSPs because the compliance gap is not just licensing paperwork; it affects consumer protections that regulators expect to exist in the state-licensed channel.
2. The regulator named the following sites: 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, Magicianbet, 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.
3. Henry Williams, executive director of the MGCB, said: “Offshore sites don’t respect the self-exclusion. 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. These 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.” In practice, that is a reminder that offshore acceptance of deposits can become a regulatory problem the moment a state regulator decides to make examples.
4. The MGCB also cited estimates that approximately US$673.6bn is wagered on offshore gambling platforms annually. It advised players to use Michigan.gov/MGCB to verify whether an online gaming or sports betting service is authorised in the state, and warned that some players may not realize the sites they use are operating illegally.

For operators and their payment providers, the signal is the usual one: if a market regulator says residents are not an “untapped market,” it is telling you where enforcement attention is headed next.