Michigan is an interesting state because winning $50, or less, at, “Illegal Gambling,” which is any gambling not either tribal or specifically licensed and regulated by the state, is illegal but does not have a prescribed penalty. For any gambling in which more than $50 is won, there is a potential punishment attached.

Michigan is a tough state to illegally operate a gambling operation with potential for fines up to $100,000 if convicted, and up to ten years imprisonment!
Any online casinos operating in Michigan, of course, are based outside of not only their jurisdiction but that of the United States Government, so they have nothing to worry about. However, if you’re thinking of starting your own online casino, that would be a terrible place to do it.
It honestly wouldn’t be a surprise...
...to see Michigan outright legalize and regulate online gambling within the next few years since the state tends to be pretty liberal on gambling policy anyway and was one of the ones to push the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn PAPSA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) as unconstitutional. We tend to expect that they will go the way of states such as New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
Please visit the restrictions page on LCB if you want to read more about the monetary limits for penalties in the Michigan codes!
There have been a few unlawful gambling arrests in the state of Michigan, but those have been related to sports betting or operating physical locations that housed gambling operations.
In terms of people acting as mere players...
...t seems that most of them don’t get into any trouble even with the physical games and we certainly have not found any example of an individual getting into any trouble for gambling online. For this reason, the vast majority of online casinos to offer their games within the United States also do so in the State of Michigan, and you can visit a few of them by clicking their links below: