Michigan Gaming Control Board

On the heels of winning a preliminary injunction last month in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the advance-deposit wagering (ADW) platform TwinSpires on Tuesday scored a victory in its overall federal lawsuit against the state of Michigan. On Jan. 6, the lower-court judge in charge of the case issued a summary judgment in favor of TwinSpires, meaning Michigan can't make that ADW partner with a brick-and-mortar racetrack in order to do business in that state. The operator of TwinSpires, Churchill Downs Technology Initiatives Company (CDT),...

A three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has sided with the advance-deposit wagering (ADW) platform TwinSpires in a nearly year-old federal lawsuit against the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). In an opinion issued Dec. 16, the federal appeals court agreed with the Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) subsidiary that operates TwinSpires by ruling that the Interstate Horseracing Act (IHA) of 1978 preempts a Michigan licensing requirement requiring that ADW providers be linked to a licensed racetrack and live race meeting. Back on Feb. 19,...

A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) to stay a preliminary injunction that was issued two months ago in favor of the advance-deposit wagering (ADW) platform TwinSpires. Back on Feb. 19, the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan had ruled that the MGCB was unconstitutionally violating the Interstate Horseracing Act (IHA) by requiring that ADW to partner with a brick-and-mortar racetrack in that state before accepting simulcast wagers from Michigan residents. At the time of that earlier ruling,...

The Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) subsidiary that operates the advance-deposit wagering (ADW) platform TwinSpires sued the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) in federal court Jan. 12, alleging that the state's requirement that ADW providers be linked to a licensed racetrack and live race meeting is "unlawful." The state's track-partnership requirement currently can't be fulfilled by any ADW because there hasn't been any Thoroughbred racing in Michigan since 2018, and Standardbred races last ran in February 2024. TwinSpires (and other ADWs) had previously partnered with the harness operation at Northville Downs,...