Michigan Online Poker

Only five US states currently offer legal online poker, and Michigan stands as one of the states on that list. Poker players in Michigan currently enjoy access to three online poker sites operated by the most recognizable gaming brands in the world: WSOP MI, PokerStars MI, and BetMGM Poker Michigan. Here’s what you need to know about each one, starting with the Michigan online poker no deposit bonus codes:

Best Michigan Online Poker Bonus Codes June 2024

🃏 MI Online Poker App	💡 Bonus Code	💰 No Deposit Bonus	🤑 Deposit Bonus
WSOP Michigan Promo Code:	25SHARP	Get $25 free on signup	Click for $1,050 deposit-match bonus
BetMGM Poker Bonus Code:	SHARPCHIP	N/A	Click for $1,000 deposit-match bonus + up to $75 in tournament tickets for free play
PokerStars Promo Code:	STARS600	None	Click for 100% deposit match up to $600 or $50 Free • Click to play 1 hand, get $50 free

Top 3 Michigan Online Poker Sites

The introduction of legal online poker puts Michigan on a shortlist of states that offer state-regulated mobile poker. Only Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, and Pennsylvania currently present the opportunity to play online poker legally. West Virginia and Connecticut will eventually join the list as well.

Very soon, online poker sites in Michigan will be able to finally share player pools with other legal online poker states. This became legal when Michigan legislators passed a bill giving Michigan regulators the ability to make deals with other states to share player liquidity.

Online casinos and poker in the Wolverine State function in partnership with the state’s commercial and tribal casinos. PokerStars launched in partnership with Odawa Casino, while BetMGM Poker operates in partnership with MGM Grand Detroit. The WSOP app partners with Turtle Creek Casino in Williamsburg.

WSOP.com Michigan is the most recent to launch, going live on March 28, 2024, but it is well positioned to become a very popular option in the state. Players can enjoy $25 free on the house when they make an account and another $25 with a deposit. Finally, WSOP will match your first deposit 100%.  All in all, it is an excellent opening bonus. Plus, of course, you know you are getting excellent poker action across a variety of games. Best of all, when you play online poker through WSOP, you get chances to enter the $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em tournament, aka The Main Event. No other online poker platform can offer that.

The BetMGM Poker technology is backed by partypoker, which also offers online poker in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. WSOP shares technology with 888poker, which currently also operates in Delaware.

PokerStars Michigan offers a full slate of cash games, tournaments, and progressive jackpot sit & go’s. It offers $50 free play after players in MI, NJ, and PA finish their first hand. BetMGM Poker offers a similar collection of games but does not offer a no-deposit bonus.

Michigan Online Poker Sites

WSOP.com Michigan

The World Series of Poker stands as America’s most recognized poker brand. The reach of the brand extends far beyond the WSOP’s annual live poker festival in Las Vegas, however, representing the biggest legal online poker network in the US. Players in Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania currently enjoy access to the WSOP.com platform, while Delaware residents can join 888poker, WSOP’s partner.

WSOP and its technology partner, 888poker, currently operate the only legal interstate online poker network in the US. Players on WSOP Nevada, WSOP New Jersey, and 888poker’s Delaware network of sites all share the same player pool. Players in Michigan should be able to join this interstate network soon as well.

WSOP.com also offers players in Nevada, Michigan, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey the opportunity to compete in the WSOP Online series each year, which awards official WSOP bracelets for online events. WSOP online and mobile gameplay also gives players a chance to win entries into the Main Event, the big $10,000 buy-in annual tournament in Las Vegas.

BetMGM Poker Michigan

BetMGM Poker MI uses software provided by partypoker, one of the world’s most popular online poker platforms. The international version of the partypoker client was cut off from the US market after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, with partypoker deciding to voluntarily leave the US industry.

The partypoker brand returned to the US with the launch of partypoker NJ in 2013. In Michigan, the poker app launched under the brand name BetMGM Poker but uses the same technology.

MGM Grand Detroit functions as the retail casino partner for the BetMGM Michigan poker app. BetMGM and partypoker parent company Entain is a partner to MGM Resorts for online gaming, under the Roar Digital brand.

BetMGM Poker PA and sister site Borgata Poker PA launched in Pennsylvania in April 2021. The two sites function as a shared player network, powered by the partypoker US Network.

None of the online poker sites bearing the “Powered by partypoker US Network” label share player pools across state lines for now, however. That said, Michigan gaming laws, combined with Michigan’s acceptance into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, give the green light for BetMGM Poker MI to merge with partypoker US Network players in New Jersey relatively soon.

PokerStars Michigan

The world’s largest online poker brand, PokerStars, now operates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. The state-regulated versions of PokerStars function as in-state platforms, separate from the international PokerStars client.

PokerStars launched in 2016 in New Jersey, marking a return to the US for the online poker giant. PokerStars debuted in Pennsylvania in November 2019 and set a US monthly revenue record for a regulated poker site in April 2020. PokerStars Michigan launched on January 29, 2021.

PokerStars MI could eventually share player pools with PokerStars New Jersey, thanks to an interstate poker bill signed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Both New Jersey and Michigan now have legislation in place to offer shared player liquidity with other states. Both states have also been accepted into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement. Online poker players in both states need to wait for Michigan to officially approve their addition and then wait for the PokerStars to get the technology set up.

PokerStars Michigan operates in the Wolverine State under the license of Odawa Casino Resort.

Is Michigan Part of An Interstate Player Pool?

Interstate poker means that players from one state can play against players from another state. This has not been the norm across the US due to a variety of hurdles. However, those hurdles are quickly being cleared. Currently, WSOP Nevada, WSOP NJ, and the 888poker network in Delaware all share the same player pool. This merged player pool, known as the All-American Poker Network (AAPN) functions as the only legal interstate online poker network in the US.

Michiganders should be in interstate player pools very soon. Michigan’s 2020 Senate Bill 099 outlines laws “for multijurisdictional internet poker” and proposes that Michigan’s online poker operators be permitted to join interstate player pools. The bill passed through the state Senate in October by an 85-16 margin, then made it through the House with a 36-1 yes vote in December. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed off on SB 0991 in January. The bill became Michigan law in early April 2024, approximately 90 days after Gov. Whitmer’s signature.

Shortly thereafter, in April 2024, Michigan was accepted into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement. All that is needed is for the state to sign the agreement and for the operators to then get permission from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.  These steps are expected to happen fairly quickly.

Soon, therefore, WSOP players in Michigan should be able to join in tournaments and cash games with players from Nevada, NJ, and Delaware. PokerStars and BetMGM are expected to combine Michigan players with NJ players as well. (Pennsylvania has yet to pass an interstate poker bill, while West Virginia and Connecticut are still struggling to get online poker off the ground.)

The end result will be more games available and higher payouts. Poker enthusiasts in the Wolverine State, rejoice!

Guide To Legal Online Poker Sites In Michigan

Michigan Poker Variations

All Michigan poker sites offer cash games, spanning the micro stakes to the high limits. No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha cash games on sites start at $0.01/$0.02 and can go all the way up to $100/$200.

PokerStars includes many games outside of Texas Hold’em and PLO. While finding a game that’s actually running can be tough, you can find open seats for Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, 8-Game Mix, 2-7 Triple Draw, and many other poker variants.

BetMGM offers No-Limit Hold’em, Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha and PLO Hi-Lo for its cash game offerings. BetMGM Poker also runs Fast Forward poker games, the partypoker version of fast-fold poker.

WSOP offers No-Limit Hold’em, Fixed-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha (both Hi and Hi-Lo), Fixed-Limit Omaha, and Fixed-Limit 7 Card Stud (both Hi and Hi-Lo).  You can also occasionally find other fun poker variants, such as BLAST poker (where a randomizer chooses the final pot–up to 10,000x buy-in–and how long players have before everyone is forced all-in) and all-in tournaments.  As a new user, when you make your first $10 deposit, you also get access to 7 days’ worth of tournaments that are just for new players and could win you $100.

Most tournaments on all sites run as No-Limit Hold’em events.

Bonuses At Michigan Online Poker Sites

Deposit Match Bonuses

Like many other forms of legal online gambling, the most commonly offered bonus at mobile poker sites comes in the form of deposit match bonuses.

A deposit match bonus matches a percentage of the amount of your first deposit with an equal amount of bonus money. The terms and conditions of a deposit match bonus offer can vary dramatically across different platforms, so it’s important to read the fine print and understand how the bonus works at a chosen online poker site.

PokerStars And BetMGM Poker Deposit Match Bonuses

Michigan’s legal online poker sites offer various welcome bonuses for new players.

At PokerStars, for example, the platform offers your choice of $50 free play after playing your first hand OR a 100% deposit match bonus up to $600 with the code STARS600.

BetMGM Poker offers a similar 100% deposit match bonus up to $1,000.

WSOP Deposit Match Bonus

WSOP’s deposit match runs a little differently. You can have 100% of your initial deposit matched, but you do have to accumulate enough APPs (Action Player Points) to unlock the bonus. You earn APPs by playing. Every time you hit 50 APPs, $5 of your bonus will be released into your account.  If you haven’t accumulated the APPs within 90 days, you do forfeit some of the bonus. Also, partial fulfillment of APPs doesn’t count.  In other words, if you are at 25 APPs before your next level, and time runs out, you don’t earn $2.50. You earn $0.

Some players might be frustrated by this deposit match structure compared to the competition. However, if you are wise with your initial deposit (in other words, if it matches how much you expect to play), you should have no problem earning your bonus. Plus, the fact that the potential bonus is $1,000–almost double the competition–makes it a solid welcome offer.

Other Bonuses

PokerStars MI allows new players to choose between two different welcome bonus offers. If the $600 deposit match offer doesn’t appeal to you, try opting in for the $50 Free Play bonus.

After opting in, the Free Play bonus is unlocked after you play one cash game hand. You’ll need to make at least a minimum deposit to sit in on a cash game hand, or cash in a freeroll tournament.

The $50 in free play comes in the form of Spin & Go and tournament tickets. You can only apply one of the welcome bonuses to your account. Terms and conditions apply.

Besides its deposit match bonus, WSOP also offers a $25 freeplay bonus just for creating an account.  You earn another $25 freeplay for making an initial deposit of $10.

As one more welcome gift for new users, WSOP offers “Welcome Week Freerolls.” If you deposit at least $10, you get tickets to 7 $100 freerolls, where you can play against other new players once a night. The tickets expire after 7 days, so they are exclusive to the newest members of the WSOP club.

All three of the online poker sites in Michigan also offer ongoing rewards points programs. With these programs, the more money you are betting, the more rewards points you earn. These rewards points then allow you to earn cashback.

See our full Guide To Michigan Online Casino Bonuses.

Online Cash Games In Michigan

WSOP Cash Games

WSOP is most well-known for its annual No-Limit Hold’em event in Las Vegas. So, it should come as no surprise that the most popular game on its online platform is NLH.

On the WSOP site or app, these No-Limit Hold’em games come in a variety of forms. You can play 6-handed or 9-handed, and you can play anywhere from $0.01/$0.02 antes up to $25/$50.

Of course, this excellent app offers a bit more variety in case NLH isn’t your game–or in case you are feeling like exploring something new.  You can also play Pot-Limit Omaha (both Hi and Hi-Lo) at tables of 6 or 9 at the same stakes as NLH. You can also play Fixed-Limit games for both Hold’em and Omaha (only Hi-Lo is available.) Fixed-Limit Omaha games can go up to stakes of $30/$60.

Finally, you can play Fixed-Limit 7 Card Stud up to stakes of $10/$20.  All 7 Card Stud games on the WSOP app are 8-handed, and almost all run as Hi-Lo.

For mobile players, WSOP offers a few limitations. First, mobile players cannot play on multiple tables like you can on WSOP.com. Also, you cannot play Pot-Limit Omaha games on mobile devices.

BetMGM Poker Cash Games

BetMGM Poker MI offers six-max and full-ring cash games around the clock. Most of the cash game tables play as No-Limit Hold’em games, but Pot-Limit Omaha, PLO Hi-Lo, and Fixed-Limit Hold’em are also offered on the ring game menu.

Players of all bankrolls can find cash games starting as low as the $0.01/$0.02 micro stakes games. BetMGM Poker features cash game action up to $25/$50 stakes.

Online poker cash games in the US generally offer the highest traffic from 5 pm-11 pm eastern time on weekdays, and from 2 pm-11 pm on weekends.

PokerStars Cash Games

Michigan players should find no trouble finding poker cash games at a variety of stakes at PokerStars Michigan. PokerStars presents a menu of stakes and poker variants that includes numerous options outside of No-Limit Hold’em.

Those options include Limit Hold’em, Stud, Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw, 8-Game, and several others. The stakes for Limit Hold’em and 8-Game go all the way up to $100/$200.

Like most poker rooms, however, most of the games play as No-Limit Hold’em, at stakes from $0.01/$0.02 up to the high stakes tables at $25/$50.

Online Poker Tournaments In Michigan

WSOP Tournaments

WSOP runs real money tournaments around the clock for fans of both No-Limit Hold’em and Omaha. The choices within these two popular types of poker are seemingly endless, as you can filter tournaments based on blinds, number of players, speed of play, and other types of fun twists (turbo, short-handed, knockout, rebuys/add-ons, and more).

Like many other poker purveyors, WSOP’s biggest tournaments come on Sundays in the late afternoon/early evening. WSOP calls these “6 Figure Sundays” and boasts that they offer the highest guaranteed money in Michigan: $100,000 total, with one tournament alone guaranteeing $50,000.

For new users, WSOP offers Freeroll tournaments, where you compete only against other new users for a chance at $100. Other freerolls are available at other times as well.  For example, sometimes new deposits can enter you into freerolls for as high as $100,000.

And of course, one of the biggest benefits of playing on the WSOP app or WSOP.com is that you are connected to the World Series of Poker as a whole. You can win official bracelets and even win a seat at the Main Event in Las Vegas.

The mobile version of WSOP does offer a few disadvantages that players should know. First, you cannot play in multiple tournaments simultaneously. Second, you cannot play Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments.

BetMGM Poker Tournaments

The tournament schedule at BetMGM Poker features more than 70 daily tournaments. Buy-ins range from $0.25 micro stakes events up to $535. The largest of those events plays as a $40,000 guaranteed weekly tournament with a $215 buy-in.

A partnership between partypoker and the World Poker Tour regularly brings special WPT online tournament series to the partypoker New Jersey client. The WPT Online Poker Open, for example, brought a $3,500 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed WPT Main Tour event to the New Jersey network.

BetMGM Poker, using its partypoker technology, will likely host WPT events for Michigan players at some point.

The BetMGM Online Series runs once per month, offering some of the biggest guaranteed prize pools on the network. The latest edition of the series ran Aug. 15-22, featuring a $1,060 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed Main Event.

With more special tournament series on the way, and the potential for future WPT-branded online festivals, the future appears bright for BetMGM Poker in Michigan.

PokerStars Tournaments

The slate of regularly scheduled tournaments includes around 50 events daily. Some of the biggest guarantees on the daily slate include the $100 buy-in Nightly Stars tournament, which guarantees an $8,000 prize pool.

The daily tournament slate includes the Daily Bigs. The series runs five tournaments per day, at buy-ins from $5 to $20.

PokerStars Michigan also offers Michigan-only versions of its popular Championship of Online Poker tournament series, which Pennsylvania and New Jersey players enjoy multiple times per year.

The latest round in the Championship of Online Poker tradition saw PokerStars Michigan host the inaugural MISCOOP series. The online poker festival ran from May 8-24 and featured a $300 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed Main Event.

The series as a whole offered 120 different tournaments, with a combined $2 million guaranteed. The Main Event drew 871 entries, with the final prize pool ending up well past the guarantee at $243,880.

The latest special online tournament festival to hit PokerStars MI ran Aug. 12-23. Dubbed the Champions Preseason 2021, the series featured a $200 buy-in, $80,000 guaranteed Main Event.

How To Fund A Michigan Poker Account

There are a variety of options to fund a Michigan online poker account. These are the same deposit options that are available in online casino apps. Some of the most popular include electronic bank transfers, credit or debit cards, and PayPal.

Using a credit card can sometimes cause problems. Some US banks are skeptical of legal online poker sites, even ones that are fully licensed by the state government. Oftentimes, bettors find their credit card deposits are declined at online poker sites. If that’s the case, try using a bank transfer or establish a PayPal account with your credit card to fund your account that way.

Michigan Poker Rooms

Michigan plays host to one of the more vibrant live poker economies in the US. All three Detroit-based commercial casinos offer live poker rooms, with several of the state’s tribal casinos also including poker among their live amenities.

MotorCity Casino runs Detroit’s largest live poker rooms. With 17 tables, cash games up to $10/$20, and tournaments running three days per week, the MotorCity poker room stands at the heart of the Detroit poker scene.

The city’s two other commercial casinos, MGM Grand Detroit and Greektown Casino, also operate live poker rooms. FireKeepers Casino, Gun Lake Casino, Odawa Casino, and Island Casino Resort are among the tribal casino poker rooms open for business.

Legal Online Poker Sites Versus Illegal Poker Sites In Michigan

State-regulated online poker platforms will bring legal online poker to Michigan for the first time. Playing at a legal mobile poker site presents many advantages over putting your money on an illegal poker site.

Security Of Funds

For starters, your money is always safe at a state-regulated poker platform like PokerStars MI and BetMGM Poker Michigan. These platforms function as extensions of legal land-based casinos.

This means your money is as safe at BetMGM Poker as it would be sitting on the table at the MGM Grand Detroit. You only have to work about playing well and keeping your opponents from taking your money, as there’s no threat of the house running off with your cash.

Illegal or offshore poker sites, or poker “clubs” that play on mobile devices, offer no such security of player funds. Taking a deeper look into poker clubs and other illegal poker rooms reveals myriad stories of the club or site operator taking player funds and running.

How Can I Tell The Difference Between A Legal And An Illegal Poker Site?

Legal online gambling sites will always display the seal of approval from the appropriate gaming regulatory agency. Both partypoker NJ and PokerStars NJ, for example, show the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement seal.

In Michigan, all state-regulated online gambling platforms are licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

How Do I Know That Legal Online Poker Sites Offer Fair Games?

Another reason to pick a legal, state-regulated online poker platform over an offshore site is the guaranteed fairness of games. Anything less than that means you’re risking your money in a rigged poker game, causing you to lose money and question your play.

The games offered at legal poker sites like PokerStars and BetMGM Poker allow players the security of regulated, fair games. The online games presented on these platforms deal with the same level of randomness and fairness as their live casino counterparts.

Who Regulates Legal Online Poker Sites In Michigan?

Both commercial and tribal casinos in Michigan can offer legal online poker. The Michigan Gaming Control Board licenses and regulates all online gaming in the state. PokerStars Michigan is partnered with tribal casino Odawa Casino Resort, which also has to comply with the rules and regulations of the National Indian Gaming Commission.

BetMGM Poker MI, licensed to MGM Grand Detroit, also falls under the regulation of the MGCB.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board exists with the purpose of assuring transparency, accountability, and fairness from the land-based casinos in their respective jurisdictions. Legal online poker sites, by extension, will be held to those same standards.

Why Should I Trust Legal Online Poker Sites In Michigan?

Legal Deposits And Withdrawals

Depositing money at PokerStars Michigan or BetMGM Poker requires making a legal financial transaction. Trusted methods like ACH/eCheck, credit/debit cards, PayPal, Play+ Prepaid, and even casino cage deposit can be openly used to deposit a state-regulated online poker platform.

That same deposit at an offshore poker site requires that you play the shell game with a third-party payment processor. Your deposit at an offshore poker site will likely appear on your bank statement as an overseas transaction from an outlet you’ve never heard of. That can’t be good.

The Reputations Of PokerStars And BetMGM Poker

As two of the biggest names in online poker around the world, both BetMGM Poker (backed by partypoker) and PokerStars operate with a keen interest in player safety, security of personal information, and fairness of games.

Both brands have built their reputations as legal and safe poker platforms. Some other brands in the history of online poker have gone in a different direction, and neither partypoker nor PokerStars wants to end up with a sullied reputation.

How Do I Get Paid If I Win?

Michigan’s legal online poker sites will offer several ways to legally withdraw funds. Some of these methods include ACH/eCheck, PayPal, Play+ Prepaid, and casino cage pickup.

Michigan Online Poker Rooms FAQ