Michigan lawmakers eyeing more restrictions on ads for internet gaming, online sports betting

LANSING — Two new bills would tighten guidelines for Internet gaming and online sports-betting advertisements.

The bipartisan bills aim to curb gambling addiction by requiring placement of a toll-free gambling addiction hotline number as well as the legal gambling age somewhere in the advertisements.

The sponsors are Democratic Sens. Erika Geiss of Taylor, John Cherry of Flint, Dayna Polehanki of Livonia, Rosemary Bayer of West Bloomfield and Mary Cavanagh of Redford Township, as well as Republican Sen. John Damoose of Harbor Springs.

The goal is to ensure that Michigan’s gambling industry “operates with the utmost integrity and accountability,” according to Geiss.

Under the bills, if a company breaks the regulations, it would be fined $1,000 for the first offense, $5,000 for the second offense and have its gaming license revoked after the third offense.

The bills also would allow municipalities to set their own rules and regulations for how Internet gaming and online sports betting are advertised in their areas.

Geiss said that online gambling is “addictive and coercive” and compared online gambling advertisements to the way cigarettes used to be advertised.

She said things such as flashy lights, visuals and celebrity endorsements are often added to make gambling products more appealing to younger people, leading to more addicted customers.

“These marketing campaigns often glamorize gambling, downplay the dangers and reach impressionable audiences who are far too young to participate,” Geiss said.

These bills have been referred to the Committee on Regulatory Affairs.