Leadstar Media Expands Reach in the US With Michigan Sports Betting License

In the past three months, the Michigan sports betting industry has attracted more interest from foreign companies than ever before. Only recently did the Michigan Gaming Control Board grant its first non-US gaming lab license to eCOGRA. It has also seen partnerships between global gaming software providers and home-grown casino brands.

Leadstar Media is the latest in the pool of foreign interest in Michigan markets. The Swedish marketing company was recently granted sports betting and iGaming licenses in Michigan. Prior to this approval, the company has operated in New Jersey, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Virginia, with much success.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board in January 2023 granted Leadstar Media’s application for sports betting and iGaming supplier licenses. Leadstar Media is a highly reputable affiliate marketing firm based in Sweden. Over the past year, it has made massive attempts to establish its hold in North America.

In December 2022, the company received an affiliate license to provide services to gamblers in Virginia. During the same period, it also launched an affiliate site in French Canada, its first expansion into French markets outside France. It also presently holds licenses in New Jersey, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to enter the Michigan market. This license will allow us to provide even more value to our partners, and we are confident that this will be positive for our company,” Eskil Kvarnström, CEO of Leadstar Media said.

“Our team is dedicated to providing the best products for our visitors… We have achieved this in other markets and are confident that we can replicate that success in Michigan as well.”

The sports betting supplier license in Michigan will allow the media company to establish its flagship products in the state. Operating primarily through its platforms, UnitedGamblers and Sportsbooksonline, the company will look to ethically promote the sports betting industry in Michigan.

Another leading foreign company, EveryMatrix has received a conditional iGaming license in Michigan. The Maltese company had applied for a license early in 2022 but the approval only came from the MGCB at the end of the year. Starting from January 2023, EveryMatrix will utilize its CasinoEngine platform to integrate casinos and internet games.

“The state of Michigan has established a solid framework for online gaming and delivered strong results since market opening,” President of EveryMatrix in the Americas, Erik Nyman said. “We are very pleased that EveryMatrix has been granted the license approval for iGaming and expect to go live shortly with our customers.”

CasinoEngine will give access to a massive casino library having more than 12,500 games. This catalog will be integrated on Michigan online casinos as third party platforms. This marks the third state where EveryMatrix can provide this service, with New Jersey and West Virginia coming first.

The B2B supplier also provides software products to sportsbooks but it will take a while before it gets approval to operate in this manner in the Wolverine State.

This rise in global interest in the Michigan sports betting and iGaming market is unsurprising. The industry has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception two years ago. Following data released by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, sportsbooks in Michigan handled $4.81 billion in real money bets in 2022, a 21.4% rise from the figures it totaled in 2021.

Compared to casinos, the sports betting industry is not seeing as much revenue, but the financial tally is enough to warrant investments from foreign service providers. Throughout 2022, Michigan sports betting operators pooled a total revenue of $418.6 million, with $399.6 million of this figure coming from online Michigan sports betting apps.

Leading the charge was FanDuel Sportsbook MI with $163.5 million in total revenue and a handle of $1.38 billion. DraftKings and BetMGM are closely in second and third places, respectively. Unfortunately, Michigan sportsbooks did not record a monthly cumulative handle of $500 million, a milestone that has not been reached since online sports betting became legal.

Nationwide, Michigan has contributed the eighth highest sports betting handle from 2018 till date. Considering that the industry only became legal in 2021, there’s great potential for the state to overtake several states in the next few years.