{"id":110102,"date":"2019-07-24T14:33:22","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T21:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=110102"},"modified":"2019-07-24T14:40:33","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T21:40:33","slug":"michigan-governor-whitmer-refusing-to-negotiate-in-online-gaming-standoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-governor-whitmer-refusing-to-negotiate-in-online-gaming-standoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Governor Whitmer Refusing to Negotiate in Online Gaming Standoff"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Michigan lawmaker behind the push to bring online gaming to the state has accused Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer\u2019s administration of \u201cnot listening to the experts\u201d and of ignoring his efforts to compromise on a bill passed by the House in June.<\/p>\n

\"Michigan
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has said she would veto the Michigan online gaming bill as it stands, but its sponsor claims she is refusing to negotiate a solution to the current standoff. (Image: Carlos Osoria\/Associated Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bill\u2019s main sponsor, State Representative Brandt Iden (R-Oshtemo Township), told Online Poker Report<\/em> this week that Whitmer was refusing to deal with him directly.<\/p>\n

Whitmer has made her feelings clear<\/a> about online gaming. She believes that it will cannibalize the state\u2019s lottery revenues, siphoning off much-needed money from school programs. It\u2019s a theory that hasn\u2019t been borne out in new Jersey where both online gaming and lottery revenues are going from strength to strength.<\/p>\n

In May, representatives from the governor\u2019s office said Whitmer would not sign the bill as it stands. In June, the Treasury proposed removing online slots from the legislation because they were too close to some of the products the Michigan lottery offered, as well as bumping the 9.25 percent tax on gross gaming revenue to 40 percent.<\/p>\n

Communication Breakdown <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Iden said at the time that this was \u201cnot a meaningful proposal\u201d and that eliminating slots would cut potential revenues from a future industry by 70 percent. Meanwhile, a 40 percent tax rate would make the market undesirable for potential operators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you propose something like a 40 percent tax rate, it just clearly shows that you have no knowledge of what\u2019s happening in the industry,\u201d Iden told OPR.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the things I continue to ask is for the administration to better educate themselves on the issue,\u201d he added. \u201cThe fact that the governor\u2019s office is ignoring the experts and simply listening to Treasury, who is not an expert in this issue and has very little knowledge, is problematic.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Iden said he would be prepared to budge on the tax rate, at least to double figures, and would possibly be prepared to swallow the no slots rule \u2013 possibly \u2013 but, according to Iden, the communication channels with the governor have closed.<\/p>\n

Since Michigan is one of the few states with a yearlong legislative calendar, there is theoretically plenty of time to change Whitmer\u2019s mind, but not without meaningful dialogue.<\/p>\n

2018 Bill Vetoed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a frustrating situation for Iden, who last year came about as close as it\u2019s possible to come to legalizing online gaming in Michigan without actually doing it.<\/p>\n

Just days before Christmas, former governor Rick Snyder unexpectedly vetoed Iden\u2019s bill after the lawmaker had united the state\u2019s disparate stakeholders<\/a> and legislature behind it.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s particularly frustrated with the Whitmer administration and the Treasury for refusing to look at New Jersey, whose lottery operations earn slightly more per capita than Michigan\u2019s, despite having no online component, while its maturing online gaming market continues to grow and has contributed $217,005,959 in taxes to state government since its 2013 inception.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Michigan lawmaker behind the push to bring online gaming to the state has accused Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer\u2019s administration of \u201cnot listening to the experts\u201d and of ignoring his efforts to compromise on a bill passed by the House in June. The bill\u2019s main sponsor, State Representative Brandt Iden (R-Oshtemo Township), told Online Poker […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":110104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMichigan Governor Whitmer Refusing to Negotiate on Online Gaming<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michigan online gambling standoff with Governor Gretchen Whitmer shows no sign of thawing, Rep. 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Brandt Iden expresses his frustration.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-governor-whitmer-refusing-to-negotiate-in-online-gaming-standoff\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-24T21:33:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-24T21:40:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/gretchen.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2172\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-governor-whitmer-refusing-to-negotiate-in-online-gaming-standoff\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-governor-whitmer-refusing-to-negotiate-in-online-gaming-standoff\/\",\"name\":\"Michigan Governor Whitmer Refusing to Negotiate on Online Gaming\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-governor-whitmer-refusing-to-negotiate-in-online-gaming-standoff\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-governor-whitmer-refusing-to-negotiate-in-online-gaming-standoff\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/gretchen.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-24T21:33:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-24T21:40:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Michigan online gambling standoff with Governor Gretchen Whitmer shows no sign of thawing, Rep. 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