Michigan just had its biggest online gambling month ever, bringing in a record $372 million in March alone.

But while platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel keep booming, the state is falling behind on protecting its residents from addiction.

Today, The ’Gander’s Kyle Kaminski explores how and why Michigan’s safeguards aren’t keeping up.

Plus: Trump’s DOJ is demanding Detroit’s ballots—and Michigan Republicans are backing it.

MI Senate passes budget proposal (Michigan Advance): The Michigan Senate passed its $88 billion budget plan along party lines, setting up negotiations with the Michigan House of Representatives and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. With both chambers advancing proposals early, lawmakers hope to avoid last year’s delays as they work toward a final deal before key budget deadlines.

MI Senate passes ‘Kids Over Clicks’ bill (The Detroit News):: The Michigan Senate has approved bills to limit addictive social media features for minors, citing growing concerns about youth mental health. The measures now head to the Michigan House of Representatives.

Lawmakers discuss dam safety reforms (Bridge Michigan): Michigan lawmakers are proposing new dam safety reforms after recent flooding exposed risks at aging structures, with officials warning stronger standards are “long overdue.”

(The ‘Gander TikTok)

Michigan just had its biggest online gambling month ever.

March numbers dropped this week with $372 million in gross receipts from online gaming and sports betting alone, generating more than $66 million for the state. But here’s the part of that story that isn’t making the press release. Michigan just got an F- for what it does to protect people from related addiction.

Here’s the deal: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation legalizing online gambling in 2019. And the state’s very first online sports vets were placed in 2021. Since then, the floodgates have opened. Last year, Michiganders wagered nearly $4 billion online. And that translated to more than $624 million for the state in 2025 alone, including $27 million just from sports betting taxes and fees. And it keeps growing, hitting a new all-time record last month. Now, most of that money benefits public schools. Some of it also goes to Detroit, where wagering taxes are literally the second-biggest source of city revenue, funding things like cops, firefighters, and snowplow trucks.

The problem here isn’t that this money exists. It’s what the state is doing and not doing with it. Because here’s the kicker: This year, Michigan allocated just $9.5 million for gambling addiction services—out of more than $600 million in revenue. And in March, the Center for Addiction Science, Policy, and Research ranked Michigan 49th out of 52 states and territories for its online gambling protections.

Other states have guardrails. Michigan has a 1-800 helpline.

And while some of our more proactive state lawmakers debate what to do about all of this, bankruptcy attorneys across the state are watching the consequences pile up in real time. A Detroit attorney told Bridge that one of his clients racked up nearly $200,000 in gambling debt. Another was dropping $20,000 on single football games.

So what? Well, Michigan lawmakers greenlit a massive online gambling industry in this state, promising voters the tax dollars would do good things. And now, years later, the state is ranked 49th in the country in protecting people from what it created.

Get the full story in this edition of “so what, Michigan?“

If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling addiction, free, confidential resources are available here.

The White House wants to interfere with Michigan’s election process. Which state lawmakers are making it happen? (Salwan Georges / Getty Images)

By Jonny Lupsha

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice demanded that the Wayne County Clerk’s Office hand over all Wayne County ballots from the 2024 US presidential election.

In a letter to the Clerk’s office dated April 14, Republican official Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, requested “all ballots (including absentee and provisional), ballot receipts, and ballot envelopes.”

Dhillon said the DOJ needs Wayne County’s ballots to make sure “federal election laws were not violated in the November 2024 election.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized the letter, calling it an attempt to interfere with Michiganders’ constitutional right to vote.

“I don’t really think the general electorate is worried so much about this made-up fraud, this narrative that’s trying to get pushed,” said Katrina Manetta, candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives’s 58th District—a swing district that elected a Democrat in 2022 and a Republican in 2024. “I think they’re worried about their rent, about whether their kids’ school is being funded. I think they’re worried about healthcare.”

The issue isn’t just in Detroit: The White House has tried to undermine Michigan’s and other states’ election processes since President Donald Trump began his second term, seeking to obtain sensitive voter information and take the constitutionally guaranteed control of elections away from states.

And every Republican congressperson in Michigan is either actively helping or supporting President Trump’s agenda to influence elections.

By Abby Deatrick

On May 1, 2026, community members will protest, march, and take action here in Michigan and across the country. International Workers’ Day, commonly known as May Day, commemorates the historic struggle for an eight-hour workday and the broader fight for fair working conditions, inspired by events such as the Haymarket affair in Chicago in 1886.

As national concerns grow over rising prices, international tensions, immigration enforcement actions, and the Trump administration’s attacks on public programs, this year’s theme is “Workers Over Billionaires,” with calls for no school. No work. No shopping. To reject business as usual. 

Here’s a roundup of May Day protests, marches, gatherings, and mutual aid drives in Michigan:

📣 Have an event to add? Email Abigail Deatrick, The ’Gander’s state organizing coordinator, with details. Please send submissions at least one week before the event.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Karel Vega with stories from Kyle Kaminski, Jonny Lupsha, and Abby Deatrick. It was edited by Kimberly Lawson.

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