Five Years Later: Lessons Learned from Michigan's Commercial Gaming Regulatory System

Abstract

ANY TIME CASINO GAMING is approved in a new jurisdiction, the inclination of those in government is to assure that the new regulatory system is “one of the toughest in the country.” Unfortunately, in most new jurisdictions, when casino gaming is mentioned, old images of organized crime and Bugsy Siegel come to mind. Over the years, Hollywood has fueled the fire of these outdated images with movies such as Bugsy and Casino. The net effect is that any new governmental body becomes convinced that it has to have the “toughest” standards. Logically, to assure this, a cadre of government attorneys look at all the various gaming statutes in existing jurisdictions and pick and choose provisions to create a patchwork quilt of a statute to raise the bar a little bit higher. Typically, in a new jurisdiction, the formulation of the new regulatory system is taking place amid a flurry of other activity (i.e., budget crisis, educational reform, etc.). Thus, those who are working on developing the system are, by necessity, moving very quickly and want to be extremely conservative and cautious to assure there are no loopholes. Thus, their tendency is to err on the side of caution and include tough provisions. The State of Michigan was no exception. After casino gaming was approved for the City of Detroit by a statewide voter referendum,1 some key officials felt that the new voter initiated state law was less than comprehensive. Republican Governor John Engler and Democratic Attorney General Frank Kelley, two long-time political foes, held an unprecedented joint press conference2 calling upon the state legislature to adopt comprehensive amendments to the state statute. Not surprisingly, Michigan officials looked at gaming in Nevada and New Jersey and relied heavily on existing gaming statutes in midwestern jurisdictions such as Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. Very fortunately for members of the gaming industry, the key governmental officers and legislators who worked on developing