With legal sports betting now live in Michigan, NFL betting is set to explode in the Great Lakes State. Licensed sportsbooks across Michigan are now offering futures, moneylines, point spreads, over/unders, parlays, and props for the most popular and most bet on sport in the United States. You also have the option of betting the NFL online, using one of many Michigan sports betting apps.
Across the US there is more money bet on the NFL than anything else in sports. Things are no different in Michigan, home to the Detroit Lions. Michigan sportsbooks allow NFL betting of all kinds, starting in the off-season and running all the way through to the Super Bowl.
Find out all about betting on the NFL in Michigan, including everything from the best bets to make and where to make them.
With legal sports betting having already launched at retail sportsbooks, you can now bet on the NFL in Michigan.
Michigan lawmakers also passed legislation that allowed licensed operators to launch online and mobile sportsbooks available statewide. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) sent online gambling and sports betting rules to the state legislature. With the rules approved, legal Michigan mobile betting apps and websites could launch by mid-January 2021.
Once they do, you’ll find a look at the best Michigan NFL betting apps right here in this space.
As long as you are in Michigan state lines with access to the internet, you can bet on the NFL using your mobile device or computer thanks to a number of upcoming Michigan online sportsbooks.
Betting on the NFL online in Michigan will be a simple three-step process requiring you to:
Of course, the process will differ slightly between the different betting apps and websites. However, the three basic steps will be the same:
You won’t be able to make NFL bets online in Michigan until you register for an account with a licensed sportsbook. The good news is that the sportsbooks will make this easier than you can imagine.
Just follow these simple steps:
The sportsbook will verify your age and location.
The next step is getting money into your account. Most sportsbooks will offer you a variety of different deposit methods, including everything from credit and debit cards to online payment processors and cash at various retail locations, including affiliated casinos and retail sportsbooks
To make a deposit into your account just follow these simple steps:
With most deposit methods the funds will be immediately available.
Filling out a bet slip is the final step in betting on football in Michigan.
This is another simple process that can be completed by following these easy steps:
Yes. It is legal to bet on the NFL in Michigan as long as you’re 21 years old or over, inside state lines, and placing the bet at a licensed Michigan sportsbook.
In May 2018, the United States Supreme Court opened the door for individual states to legalize sports betting by lifting a federal ban on the activity. Michigan walked through that door in December 2019 when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a package of gambling expansion bills into law. These bills legalized online casinos, online poker, and sports betting.
Of course, not just anyone can decide to take bets on sports and open up a sportsbook. Only the three casinos in Detroit and 23 tribal casinos across the state have been given the right to apply for Michigan sports betting licenses.
These licenses, which come with a $50,000 application fee, $100,000 license fee, and $50,000 annual renewal fee, allow the casinos to offer sports betting at retail sportsbooks and online.
Licensees are also subject to an 8.4% tax on all sports betting revenue and Detroit casinos must pay an additional 3.25% tax on sports betting revenue to the city.
Michigan sportsbooks offer the following basic ways to bet on the NFL:
The league announced in May 2020 that the upcoming NFL season will go ahead pending further developments with the COVID-19 pandemic. Like always, there will be a training camp and short preseason, followed by a 17-week regular season where each team plays 16 games.
The NFL Playoffs will follow the regular season with an expanded 14-team single-elimination tournament to determine who plays in the Super Bowl. In a new wrinkle for 2020, the league added two playoff teams to each conference’s tournament.
The 2020 season kicked off Sept. 10, with the Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans. The season will wrap up with Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7, 2021, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL.
The NFL preseason is just a tuneup for the regular season. Regular season starters get more rest than playing time and winning isn’t really the goal. Michigan sportsbooks will offer betting lines on preseason games, but your guess is as good as theirs as to who will actually win these meaningless contests.
Training camps are set to be held from late July through August each year.
The NFL rewards winning and until teams have locked up playoff spots and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, every team tries to win every game it can.
The league divides its 32 teams into two 16-team conferences: The AFC and NFC. Each team plays 16 regular-season games over a 17-week regular season and only the best seven teams in each conference make the playoffs.
Michigan sportsbooks will offer various betting markets for every regular-season game and futures markets on team performance, allowing you to bet on almost every aspect of the NFL regular season.
Only the best seven teams in each of the AFC and NFC make the NFL Playoffs. This includes the team with the top regular-season record in each division, seeded one through four in the conference.
In each conference, the teams with the fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-best records qualify for the playoffs as wild cards.
The NFL Playoffs are a single-elimination tournament to decide the NFL champion, so it goes without saying that teams are trying to win. Lines set by sportsbooks will be stunningly accurate because oddsmakers have fewer teams to focus on.
Wild Card Weekend starts things off with three division winners hosting three wild card teams in each conference. The top-seeded team in each conference gets a bye.
The three wild card winners move on to round two along with top seed in the Divisional Round. Then those winners meet in the AFC and NFC Championship games.
The AFC and NFC Conference champions face off in the Super Bowl to determine which team will hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Michigan sportsbooks will likely offer more props and betting markets for the Super Bowl than any other sporting event. The Super Bowl has become one of the single biggest days in sports and sports betting.
Looking to head out to catch the action on an NFL Sunday or for one of the primetime tilts? Here are some of the top spots for you to check out here in Michigan, all of which will feature the latest odds for the games.
The BetMGM Sports Lounge features six betting windows for you to take care of business, and there are also 14 self-serve kiosks elsewhere on the property. Amenities include a full-service bar and 60 HDTVs to enjoy the games on.
The launch of the FanDuel Sportsbook was met with much fanfare in March 2020. It’s easy to see why with 67 HDTV’s, a sports ticker, six betting windows, and 54 self-serve kiosks among the amenities that are waiting for visitors.
Dacey’s Sportsbook has received high marks from Casino Player magazine and the praise is warranted. Beyond the standard betting windows and kiosks, there’s a bar and restaurant on site, as well as several large video screens to soak in all of the action.
These are three outstanding spots to watch and wager on the NFL, but there are several other stellar options to consider when looking for NFL lines in Michigan. Included on that list are The Onyx Sportsbook by William Hill at Turtle Creek Casino in Williamsburg, and the Four Winds Casino Sportsbook in New Buffalo.
The best NFL betting strategies are all information-based. That means you have to watch NFL games and read and watch everything you can about the league to bet on the NFL successfully.
High-quality research is key. You need to pore over news reports on the internet and consume everything you can about the NFL from multiple sources with the goal of turning your guesses into informed and educated picks. You also need to watch NFL games as there is no substitute for seeing what teams and players are capable of with your own eyes.
Of course, you also need to learn how to be selective. You don’t have to bet on every game, just the ones where the information you’ve uncovered shows that one team has an edge.
Plus, you must learn to avoid the tease of multi-game parlays that promise big paydays but rarely come through.
Live streams of certain games are available free on the NFL app. This includes some Detroit Lions games and nationally broadcast primetime games like ESPN’s Monday Night Football and NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
The Yahoo Sports app or an online streaming package is required if you want to stream NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football games. Your cable package is another option to access NFL Network.
If you want online access to the entire NFL schedule, you need to purchase an NFL Sunday Ticket or NFL Game Pass package that allows for live streaming of all games and online replays.
The NFL has granted FOX (NFC) and CBS (AFC) TV broadcast rights. This means you can watch regional NFL games on TV for free, so you’ll find most Detroit Lions or Green Bay Packers games on Fox affiliates in Michigan, including:
Road games against AFC opponents will be aired on CBS affiliates in Michigan, including:
FOX and CBS affiliates also air national games and games of regional interest.
The Detroit Lions play in the NFC North Division. The Lions were originally the Portsmouth Spartans, who joined the NFL in 1930, moved to Detroit from southern Ohio in 1934, and were renamed.
The team is owned by Sheila Ford Hamp. She took over the team in June 2020 from her mother Martha Firestone Ford, the grandchild of the founders of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. and the widow of Henry Ford’s grandson. William Clay Ford bought the Lions in 1963 and passed controlling interest on to his widow when he died in March 2014, who then passed it to their second-oldest of four children.
The Detroit Lions have won four NFL championships, but the team’s last title came in 1957, winning one playoff game since then. The Lions have never been to the Super Bowl. The Lions have played home games at Ford Field in downtown Detroit since 2002.
The 2019 Detroit Lions started the season with two wins and a tie. However, the team lost 12 of its last 13 games and did not make the NFL Playoffs.
Starting QB Matthew Stafford fractured bones in his back in Week 9 and backup QBs Jeff Driskel and David Blough did not win a single game in relief.
The Lions ended up posting with a 3-12-1 record.
However, Head Coach Matt Patricia is returning for a third season in 2020 and the Lions signed Pro Bowl corner Desmond Trufant to a two-year, $21-million deal heading into the season. Other high profile additions include tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai (five years / $45 million) and linebacker Jamie Collins (three years / $30 million).
The Lions selected Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah with the third pick of the NFL Draft, adding Georgia running back D’Andre Swift in round two.
The Detroit Lions’ two longest rivals are in the NFC North division and have been playing against the Lions since the team joined the NFL in 1930
Of course, the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers have enjoyed much more success than the Lions have.
The Bears won eight NFL Championships prior to the AFL–NFL merger and Super Bowl XX in 1985. The Packers won 11 NFL Championships prior to the AFL–NFL merger and Super Bowl I, II, XXXI, and XLV.
In total, 21 Detroit Lions players have been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They are:
NFL futures involve betting on a team to win the Super Bowl, a certain number of games in a season, or a division or conference title. NFL futures markets open during the offseason and the odds are adjusted throughout the season alongside a team’s chances of accomplishing one of these goals.
The NFL has two conferences with four divisions in each. The regular-season winner of each division automatically qualifies for the playoffs and are seeded No. 1 through No. 4 in each conference. The three non-division winning teams with the best records are added as wild cards.
Prior to 2020, the playoffs only featured two wild cards, but the NFL expanded to a 14-team playoff this year. Going forward, only the top-seeded team in each division gets a bye.
Now, Wild Card Weekend will feature six games, three in each division pitting these sees against one another:
Then, in the divisional round, the remaining four teams in the playoffs are seeded by record and play a second game Those winners then play in the AFC and NFC Conference Championship games. Two weeks later, the conference champions play for the NFL title in the Super Bowl.
The 2020 NFL Draft was held via videoconferencing on April 23 and 24, 2020. The 2021 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 29 through May 1, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio.