Enforcement: How hard does the regulator enforce?

The Michigan Gaming Control Board issued cease-and-desist letters to 33 offshore gambling operators on October 8, 2026, covering unlicensed online casino, sweepstakes-style, and sports betting products offered to Michigan residents, building on an earlier action against 45 operators. The MGCB noted that self-excluded players have no protection on these unlicensed offshore sites, a standing gap tied to the offshore market rather than to Michigan's own licensed-channel framework. Separately, Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. stipulated on October 7, 2026 to halt new Michigan sports-related event contracts and wind down open positions by October 10, 2026, joining Robinhood in stepping back from this product line while the MGCB withholds enforcement pending a Sixth Circuit appeal. A Commodity Futures Trading Commission interim final rule, effective October 19, 2026, excludes wagers placed with state- or tribal-licensed sportsbooks and casinos from the Commodity Exchange Act's swap definition, undercutting the federal-preemption defense raised by Coinbase, Kalshi, Robinhood and Polymarket against MGCB enforcement and reinforcing the state's own enforcement theory in the pending appeal. Together these developments show an active, two-track enforcement posture: a sweep against unlicensed offshore operators and a negotiated containment of disputed-status prediction-market products pending litigation.