The Texas state legislature meets every other year, which means the lawmakers will be convening in 2025. However, sports betting insiders are wondering if this is the year the Lone Star State, one of the largest states in the union, finally legalizes mobile sports betting this year.
The Verdict is Out
The Texas House of Representatives approved the passage of sports betting in 2023, but the Senate derailed that momentum. However, it is a topic certain to be debated again this year with many of the same players involved. One of them happens to be Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who was an outspoken critic of sports betting the last time around.
There is support for a mobile sports betting bill in many corners, and the 1.1 million log-in attempts by Texans last year to licensed sportsbooks in other jurisdictions prove there is interest by the electorate. “It’s clear that Texans want access to regulated and safe sports betting options,” Texas Sports Betting Alliance spokesperson Lauren Clay said in a release. “Every thwarted attempt to log in to a legal sportsbook represents a missed opportunity for Texans to engage in a safe, regulated activity and for the state to generate tax revenue to support important programs.”
Texas boasts the second largest population in the nation of 29.1 million, trailing only California’s 39.5 million, which means it would be an enormous market for sports betting operators and sizeable tax revenue for the state. Yet, the conservative nature of the Senate appears to be dug in to reject sports betting while powerful forces are advocating for it.
Jerry Says Aye
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a billionaire several times over, and he also has political clout in Texas. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume that if he wants sports betting in the great state of Texas, then he will likely have powerful forces on his side to effectuate that desire. “Ultimately we’ll have sports betting in the state of Texas; until that time the state does lose an opportunity for huge amounts of revenue,” Jones said recently.
Mark Cuban, who recently sold most of his stake in the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson of the Las Vegas Sands, has also been supportive of sports betting and wants to build a commercial casino in the state, something that is solely the domain of tribal nations in Texas. “My goal, and we’d partner with Sands, is when we build a new arena, it’ll be in the middle of a resort and casino. That’s the mission,” Cuban said in 2022.
Dallas Stars President Brad Alberts believes the odds of sports betting passing during this upcoming legislative session are “50-50 at best.” “I think it’s in the same spot it was. The same challenges exist, which is a resistant Senate, led by the lieutenant governor,” Alberts said. “And I don’t think that that has changed. Obviously, those same personalities are still in office.”
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