Michigan’s successful sports betting market continues to expand, as the Nottawaseppi Huron Band’s FireKeepers Casino and partner NYX Digital (owned by Scientific Games) has been granted the state’s 13th online gambling license.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board-issued license will operate under the Firekeepers Casino brand and offers both sports and casino game betting. The Firekeepers Casino sportsbook and online casino is authorized to begin operations today at Noon EST.
“We welcome the addition of FireKeepers Casino and partner NYX Digital to Michigan’s growing online gaming and sports wagering market,” said Henry Williams, MGCB executive director. “The tribe’s representatives provided key support for development of the laws signed in 2019 that allow federally recognized tribes in Michigan to seek licenses for internet casino gaming and online sports betting. Their participation will generate revenue to support K-12 education, economic development and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band’s tribal community.”
The choice by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band to brand their online betting operation under the Firekeepers Casino Hotel name is unusual, but not unprecedented. Previously, Michigan-based FourWinds Casinos and Gun Lake Casino launched their own brand of online sportsbooks and casinos in the state.
Scientific Games and NYX have provided gaming technology for several licensed operators around the United States, and are headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Scientific Games also owns Bally Technologies, a leading manufacturer of slot machines, and they operate the sports betting platform OpenBet in the United Kingdom.
About Nottawaseppi Huron Band And The Firekeepers Casino Hotel
Based at the Pine Creek Indian Reservation near Athens, Michigan, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) is a federally recognized Tribal government with more than 1,500 members. The tribe owns and operates the Firekeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan. It features an eight-story, 243-room, diamond-rated hotel, and a 107,000-square-foot casino with more than 2,900 slots, 70 table games and a 26-table poker room.
Firekeepers Casino Hotel was opened in 2009, and was initially operated by Gaming Entertainment Michigan (GEM). But in 2012, the NHBP bought out their agreement with GEM and took over control of the operation. The casino and hotel employ more than 2,000 people.
A portion of online gaming revenue in Michigan is used to fund K-12 education programs, and other revenue accrued by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band is used to assist projects in their tribe as well as the surrounding communities.
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