LANSING — In case you missed it, late last week, Rolling Stone broke a bombshell story exposing state House Minority Leader MAGA Matt Hall’s concerning history with gambling and revealing that Hall appears to have bet more than his annual salary as a legislator in just one month – before going on to lead the charge to legalize sports betting in Michigan.
The report details Hall’s apparent history of placing outsized, frequent, and audacious sports bets. Records reviewed by Rolling Stone indicate that just a few years ago, while sports betting was illegal in Michigan, Hall gambled more than $73,000 in the span of just 33 days, which is more than the entire yearly salary of a Michigan House member at the time and works out to more than $2,200 per day, on average.
The story links these new revelations to a previously reported incident with Hall’s girlfriend that centers around gambling. In a recording of the altercation, Hall’s girlfriend emphasizes how concerning Hall’s gambling is, which he responds to by saying his gambling is more important than their relationship.
Make no mistake – this story raises even more concerns about MAGA Matt Hall’s tumultuous past, adding gambling to an already troubling record of violence, violent threats, and racist extremism. Matt Hall has still yet to answer for these new revelations – Rolling Stone reports that Hall’s office offered a two-word statement, “without providing an explanation for the transactions or denying that they were made by Hall.”
Michiganders deserve better, and we won’t stand for it.
Read the most troubling elements of the Rolling Stone story below and see what important voices from across Michigan are saying about MAGA Matt Hall’s concerning history with sports betting:
Rolling Stone: Sure Looks Like Michigan’s GOP Leader Gambled $73,000 in One Month
- In September 2019, Michigan state Rep. Matt Hall’s then-girlfriend called 911. According to the police write-up of the incident, Hall — now the Republican state House minority leader — was rushing to place bets across the stateline in Indiana after he temporarily lost track of his gambling money.
- At the time, sports betting was still outlawed in Michigan. A package of bills that would legalize it had been introduced earlier the same month, and Hall — who once said legalizing sports betting is “one the reasons [he] ran for office” — was among the proposal’s staunchest supporters.
- Hall appears to have had a history of making audacious bets by that time, records reviewed by Rolling Stone indicate. An account associated with the lawmaker’s personal email appears to have placed roughly $73,000 in online sports bets in a span of just 33 days the year before.
- In the car that evening in September 2019, the woman seemed to blame Hall’s behavior on his desire to gamble. “Maybe you shouldn’t gamble so much,” she says in a recording she made of the incident and later shared with the police.
- Beyond his role in the 2019 push to legalize sports betting in Michigan, Hall has developed a reputation as a friend and champion of the gaming industry. In 2020, he introduced a bill to repeal a ban on campaign donations from casino interests. In 2021, he proposed legislation that would have legalized betting on horse races “run in the past or to be run in the future.”
Michigan Dems Youth Chair and Michigan House Candidate Austin Marsman
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