The question of legal gambling in the Lone Star State is one that has been asked for decades, but it is only recently that we’re starting to see some genuine movement on the issue. This is, of course, thanks to the legalization of sports betting across multiple states including our neighbors Louisiana and Arkansas.
The last couple of years have seen a lot of discussion on the topic as both lawmakers, sporting franchises, and companies have pushed the sports betting envelope in particular. These efforts saw the establishment of the Sports Betting Alliance and the introduction of several sports betting and gambling bills.
However, with every proactive step taken, opponents to sports betting and casinos seem to push gambling two steps back. This begs the question—will Texas ever have a legal, regulated gambling market? And if so, will regulated online casinos be a part of that industry?
The current state of play
At present, gambling is outlawed for the most part in the state of Texas. There are concessions such as charitable bingo, social casino gaming, and pari-mutuel wagering at the racetracks. However, when it comes to legal online gambling, Texans are limited to international casinos that allow US players to register. These include well-known names such as Bovada who have built solid reputations in an online marketplace where there is often a lot of uncertainty.
However, despite these options being available and trustworthy, there’s no benefit to the state as international operators pay no taxes in unregulated markets such as Texas. This is where supporters of regulated gambling feel that the state is leaving money on the table. And we’re not talking pocket change. Louisiana’s sports betting industry generated over $10 million in revenues during the first two months of operation resulting in approximately $1.25 million in state taxes. Almost $1 million of that was from online betting alone.
Lawmakers have taken note and in 2021, they attempted to pass sports betting legislation that included provisions for online gambling. In total there were five pieces of legislation all of which failed to gain the support required to pass into law.
As the Texas Legislature only meets in odd years, the soonest we can expect the matter to come up for discussion again is in 2023. This means that supporters of legal online gambling have a year to make their preparations. And they’re not wasting their time.
Can the Sports Betting Alliance make a difference?
The Sports Betting Alliance is a group that includes local professional sports teams, betting platforms, business owners and sports fans that are lobbying for the legalization of sports betting. The alliance has some heavyweight online gambling companies as backers including:
- BetMGM
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- theScoreBet
- Barstool Sportsbook
- Penn National Gaming
These companies have already invested heavily to support legislative efforts over the last two sessions. They have financially backed studies into the benefits of sports betting in the state and some have even gone so far as to ink partnership deals with local sporting franchises. This is likely a preemptive move to build brand awareness in a market where they are sure that gambling legislation will pass in 2023.
The alliance also includes the majority of the state’s professional sports teams who have thrown their support behind the legalization efforts.
Although the group’s remit is to legalize sports betting, the companies behind the bid are predominantly focused on the online market and mobile sports betting is high on the alliance’s agenda. If the alliance is successful in forcing through sports betting, which many feel is a strong possibility, then this would help casino operators’ case for legal gambling in the state.
What about land-based casino operators?
This is where things could get a little murky. There was a big push by the Las Vegas Sands Resort to have commercial casinos legalized in Texas. A bill was introduced in 2021 that would have required voter approval and that would have seen the building of several casinos in the state.
Yet despite spending around $10 million lobbying at the Capitol, the bill came to nothing and legalization will have to wait for at least another year. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for supporters of online casinos. In many states, it is the land-based gaming operators who have fought tooth and nail to oppose regulated online markets. Their reasoning is that local jobs will be lost as revenues at live casinos will drop.
However, if online sports betting can be legalized before land-based casinos are built, this could pave the way for an immediate launch of online casino gaming. This is especially true given that the biggest supporters of sports betting—DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM—have invested heavily in their online casino products and currently operate in several states.
So will Texas ever see legal online gambling? Sports betting is almost certainly a given, but as for online casino gaming, only time will tell.
