Texas has its own reputation amongst the states of America. It’s well known for standing strong and having some of the most passionate Americans in the USA. One thing that Texans are passionate about is gambling – a passion that has a very interesting history in the state.
You can’t directly get access to online sports betting in Texas, but this doesn’t mean to say that there aren’t ways around it if you are a resident of the lone star state. Texas has always been strict with its gambling legislation. Let’s take a look through the twists and turns of the history behind gambling in Texas.
The Early Days
In the early history of Texas, gambling was seen as a vice activity. It was classed in the same category as sex work, heavy drinking and taking drugs like peyote and opium. Part of the legendary ‘bad boy’ reputation Texas gets is from the fact that colonial Texas was absolutely swamped with brothels, saloons and gambling venues.
These gambling establishments saw a huge boom in popularity after the civil war as people wanted to take their minds off of their troubles. Cowboys, smugglers, ranchers and more all loved frequenting gambling houses to get their kicks in their downtime. The frontier boom only saw them getting busier as well, as more trade passed through towns.
Onto The 20th Century
The early 20th century saw every form of gambling was declared illegal when legislation was announced back in 1903. Around this time was known as the progressive era and saw huge changes for Texas. One of those was the outlawing or legalization of all of the vices. One by one, each vice was either completely regulated by the state or outlawed. This didn’t stop Texans though. They took to illegal gambling activities in their houses. The outlawing of gambling made a massive dent in its popularity throughout the state.
The biggest change that Texas saw during this era was the banning of alcohol in the 1920s. This led to people taking their vice activities to the underground and many illegal establishments were created, offering a place for people to drink and gamble.
As with all illegal underground operations, these hidden venues brought with them a hike in crime. This only added fuel to the ‘anti-vice’ fire and things were hitting a fever pitch. That was until one of the worst economic disasters to ever hit America occurred – the Great Depression.
The Great Depression and After
The 30s saw the whole of America get hit by The Great Depression. This affected every state in the country, including texas. To help restart the local economy, Texas made ‘pari-mutuel’ bets on horse racing legal. This comes from the French for ‘mutual betting’ and is a term for when all bets of one type are pooled together. After taxes and any bookmaker fees are subtracted, any winnings are split between all of the winners.
Jumping forward a few decades, the next big changes in legislation were right after World War 2. The country again went into economic turmoil thanks to the war effort. This led to Texas relaxing gambling laws and regulations to drive more revenue via tax.
Galveston and Houston were some of the first cities to make a move on this opportunity. They both opened up large gambling venues, with other states following suit not long after.
Today and the Future of Gambling in Texas
Currently, the gambling laws in Texas allow certain types of gambling, whilst others are prohibited. Activities such as the Texas Lottery, Pari-mutuel horse racing bets, games of poker in houses and charitable gambling are allowed. You can also play slots and table casino games at select tribal casinos.
There is a bill that is trying to be passed that could change everything though. The political landscape in Texas is a massive divide, with conservatives very keen on keeping the state free of sports betting. The opposition is on the other side of the fence. They think that if it’s monitored and regulated, allowing sports betting and other gambling could be an invaluable source of tax income for the state.
The whole future of not just betting but casino games will come down to whether a bill to allow more forms of gambling comes to pass. Whether it passes or not will come down to the politics of the state and who the governor is.
If the bill gets passed, it will still take a while for everything to come to fruition for the lone star state. These things take a long time and it’ll be at least a year or two before there’s any movement. Casinos will have to be planned and built, which again will take years. But you can bet that some of the biggest names in the industry will be interested and gamblers will be assured of incredible experiences at these venues.
