For the first time this weekend, you can make bets on Detroit City FC soccer games on the regulated Michigan market.
And the popular soccer team has just the place for you to make those bets.
Detroit City FC is entering its inaugural season in the USL Championship with an iGaming partnership with Golden Nugget Sportsbook MI.
The move to the USL put the franchise in a league approved for wagers by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Le Rouge Boosts already available
As part of the multi-year partnership signed in 2021, Golden Nugget has announced a pair of “Le Rouge Boosts” that can be bet on right now.
- Detroit City FC USL Championship League Winner: +4000
- Detroit City FC USL Championship Easter Conference Winner: +1800
At the Golden Nugget site, you can click on a link labeled “Detroit City FC Specials.”
Along with the futures offerings, Golden Nugget will provide Golden Lines Odds Boosts for Detroit City contests this season. It will also have USL Championship League lines from across the country this season.
The deal with Golden Nugget is about more than that, though.
“We are partners with Golden Nugget because of their focus on community,” DCFC Chief of Partnerships T.J. Winfrey told PlayMichigan. “Detroit City FC is a community-oriented club and Golden Nugget offered a means to amplify community, through activation. For example, Golden Nugget activates at DCFC home matches with promotional value for DCFC fans and through partnerships with nonprofits such as the Detroit Food Academy. Golden Nugget provides meaningful ways for us to engage fans during broadcasts as well. There are several elements that they help us bring to life.”
Growing deals between teams and books
Sportsbooks partnering with teams is nothing new in Michigan, as the Detroit Lions, Pistons, Red Wings and Tigers all struck have made their own deals.
Michigan State University struck a big deal with a sportsbook within the state back in January. The Spartans announced an exclusive iGaming partnership with Caesars Sportsbook MI.
MSU became the fourth Division I college program to land a partnership with a sportsbook.
In recent weeks, the Kalamazoo Wings became the first ECHL franchise to enter into a strategic partnership with a sportsbook. The K-Wings agreed to a deal with FireKeepers Casino Hotel.
We have seen these deals growing nationwide, with the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB all developing league-wide partnerships with sportsbooks.
Debut USL season for Detroit City FC
The 2022 USL Championship League season will include Detroit City FC for the first time.
Le Rouge spent the past two years as part of the National Independent Soccer Association.
They won the last two season championships in the NISA, posting a 14-3-1 record during the 2021 season.
The 2022 USL Championship League consists of 27 teams broken into two conferences. Detroit City will be part of the Eastern Conference.
Included in the East is Louisville City FC, a two-time league champ (2017, 2018) and Tampa Bay Rowdies, last season’s league runner-up.
Season kicks off this weekend
The season includes a 34-game schedule, with Detroit playing each conference opponent twice and eight interconference opponents. The top seven teams in each conference will make the playoffs.
Le Rouge open their season Saturday, traveling to San Antonio to face San Antonio FC at 8:30 p.m. Fans can stream the game on ESPN+.
Their home opener will take place a week later on March 19 when they host Charleston Battery at 4 p.m.
The team plays its home games at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, a multi-purpose stadium that can seat nearly 8,000 spectators.
