The newly legalized sports gambling industry in the state of Michigan recently approved a provision that directly benefits the Detroit Lions and the greater NFL.

In the language of the bill signed by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, there is an important nod to the NFL, NBA and other professional sporting leagues. It essentially requires the sportsbooks taking wagers on statistical accomplishments in games to use the official statistics provided by the leagues themselves and not an outside source.

Michigan is one of just three states to mandate the use of official league stats in wagering outcomes. It does tack on a small fee to every wager on prop bets to ensure the league statistics are used. The pro sports leagues all strongly advocated for the language that effectively cuts off outside competition for the sportsbook statistical market.

As an example, placing a bet on if Kenny Golladay will catch above or below 4.5 passes in the first half of a game will require using the official NFL statistics for the game and not an outside service. It only applies to wagers made after a game starts.

For more details on Michigans new law allowing sports gambling, the Legal Sports Report offers an excellent summary.

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Michigan's new sports gambling law benefits the Lions and the NFL - Lions Wire