If you’ve resided in our fair state for longer than a week, this next statement may seem off the wall, but you know that is uncomfortably close to the truth. So here goes.

If they took all the online casino and sports betting away, most would move to New Jersey, which is number one in the nation for online gambling, followed by you know who… Us, including Detroit, which is number eight in the nation.

These factoids are compliments of Brant Iden.

That’s right, you have no idea who he is, but he is basically the legislative guy who pushed over the finish line, with the help of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The immensely popular internet gaming options have so far poured $2.1 billion (with a “B”) into the state coffers since the latest form of gambling from your couch began in 2019. Breaking that down, that amounts to 48 to 50 million dollars every month, and by law, 65% of that, or $30 million, goes to teach our kids.

I get questions all the time from others who ask, “What is the state doing that makes the betting so alluring?”

And he is more than prepared to answer because that question comes from clients he is cultivating around the country to get them to hire his sports betting platform. He segued after six years in the Michigan House into this lucrative private sector gig, and let’s just say he is very happy with the move as he speaks from his digs in Tampa, Florida.

The affable Mr. Iden spends about three weeks a month traipsing hither and yon, preaching the benefits of all this.

And he owes a note of thanks to the current president, who has given Iden a new pitch to every state he touches.

“These states are scared,” he reports. “Especially states that take a lot of federal funding. States like Louisiana and Vermont.”

With the Trump/Musk axis wielding their federal budget-cutting machete through the federal bureaucracy from tip to toe, states are searching for any way to make up the lost cash.

“The reality of it is that there is this opportunity to supplement new revenue into their state without having to go back to their citizens and ask them for more money. This is a new avenue,” he joyfully exudes with visions of dollar signs in his head.

As a former GOP lawmaker, he knows full well that politicians are loathed to raise taxes, which often turns into a one-way hall pass out of the legislature and back into the private sector. So any lifeline, even betting, which hooks 2 to 3% of the players into a nasty and wallet-draining, inescapable addiction, is worth the gamble. It should be noted that in his pitch, he recommends that each state set aside “X” amount of dollars for a 1-800 addiction hotline and another chunk of cash for services to help these poor souls break their habit.

Currently, 39 states and the District of Columbia are in the game, and he predicts the number will grow, but maybe not as fast as he might wish.

“We’re getting closer in terms of all of the states. Some of the big ones are out there, California and Texas, as they still have yet to legalize, and it may be a while. That’s because all of these states that are left have some tricky political nuance that has not gotten down.”

For example, there are 109 native tribes in California, which means, “109 different opinions on how to get sports betting in that state.”

In Minnesota, where he’s been working for years, it’s the horse racing industry vs. the online folks, and so far neither side has blinked with much riding on the outcome, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Meanwhile, there is occasional chatter that maybe the federal government ought to legalize it for every state and be done with it.

Thanks but no thanks, Mr. I. contends.

“This is a state rights issue, and the federal approach doesn’t make a lot of sense for the industry. For the feds to step in now would create even more chaos.”

So while the Trump administration is helping him to sell his wares, on the other hand, it is also creating a citizenry that is just a tad flummoxed by the state of the economy in general and more specifically the dwindling size of their 401-Ks.

“People are a bit nervous right now. They are unsure about what will happen next…There is uncertainty out there, and in Vegas over the last three weeks, tourism is down.”

But always the optimist, the former lawmaker quickly spins, “but it’s an entertainment product and folks set aside money for entertainment.”

Unless, of course, those funds are needed to feed the kids.