New Texas Legislature Won’t Favor Sports Betting, Gambling
It appears the November election didn’t turn out well for the future of gambling expansion in Texas. A group of anti-gambling Republican lawmakers newly elected in the state replaced some who previously supported the idea, according to the Texas Tribune. In addition, three GOP senators who supported a gambling expansion in 2023 say they now oppose the idea. The Texas legislature meets only in odd-numbered years.
House State Affairs Committee Chairman Ken King received a letter from the group March 11. In it, they wrote they would oppose “any attempt to expand gambling.” The letter was sent a day after Democratic Senator Juan Hinojosa’s constitutional amendment that would send the decision of whether or not to legalize sports betting was assigned to the State Affairs Committee March 10.
SJR 65 would allow the state’s professional sports teams to be licensed for sports betting, as well as golf courses that host PGA Tour events. The bill does not specify if in-person or digital sports betting, or both, would become legal.
If it passes, a referendum would go on the state’s November ballot. Voters would select “yes” or “no” to the following:
The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to legalize wagering in this state on certain sporting events.
A similar constitutional amendment was filed earlier this session in the House. Neither bill has had a hearing.
Given Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s past comments, it seems unlikely that SJR 65 – or any other gambling expansion proposal – will gain any traction. Patrick, also the president of the Senate, has previously said he’ll call for votes only on legislation that has the strong backing of the Republican Party.
In their letter to King, a dozen GOP senators wrote, “We are confident this legislation does not have the votes necessary to pass the Texas House this session. Given the certainty of its failure, I urge you not to waste valuable committee time on an issue that is dead on arrival.”
The issue has been fraught in Texas for multiple sessions, despite heavy lobbying efforts headed by Las Vegas Sands. That large casino company, which spent $13 million on lobbying ahead of the 2025 session, is aiming to build a casino complex in Dallas. Owner Miriam Adelson last year purchased a majority share of the Dallas Mavericks and wants to build out an entertainment complex around the team’s home arena.
A University of Houston poll has reported that 60 percent of Texans support legalized sports betting and 73 percent support adding destination resort casinos.
But given Patrick’s strong opposition and the new makeup of the legislature, it does not appear that 2025 will be the year for a gambling expansion in the second-biggest state in the U.S.
Another Southern California Sports Bettor Indicted
A Southern California man was indicted March 10 on four counts of tax evasion. He allegedly used corporate funds to pay for sports betting losses. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Edwin Michael Greer used some of the funds to pay off debts to illegal bookmakers Wayne Nix and Ken Arsenian.
Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Greer owned an insurance salvage company from 2017-20. During that time, he allegedly used company funds to pay off gambling debt and “concealed these personal payments in the company’s business records, and in many cases directed the payments to be recorded as business expenses to reduce the company’s income.”
If convicted, Greer would face a potential maximum of five years in prison for each count.
Nix, who in 2022 pled guilty to a federal tax fraud charge and running an illegal sportsbook, has not yet been sentenced. According to a 2022 court press release, he ran an illegal sportsbook and laundered money at Las Vegas casinos. Arsenian also pled guilty to running an illegal sportsbook, money laundering and two other federal charges. He agreed to pay $1.1 million in back taxes and forfeited $341,459.
DraftKings Getting Into Prediction Market?
According to The Closing Line, DraftKings has registered the name “DraftKings Predict” with the National Futures Association. The filing indicates that DraftKings could be exploring a prediction market product. The filing shouldn’t come as a complete surprise – DraftKings founder and CEO Jason Robins alluded to his company’s interest in prediction markets during the company’s third-quarter conference call in November.
“I do think there could be a place for it outside of elections,” Robins said. “We’ll have to see where it fits in the priority list, but it is something we’ll plan on looking at ahead of next election, for sure.”
Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson didn’t outright dismiss getting into prediction markets during his company’s Q4 earnings call. He called prediction markets “an interesting opportunity” at that time. He also said that he believes that such markets don’t have the energy or excitement of a “true sportsbook.”
Digital Sports Betting Becoming Political Football in Mississippi
The Mississippi House amended two Senate bills in order to include legal sports betting along with a sweepstakes ban. Those bills are now back in the Senate, writes iGB.
When the bills left the Senate, neither was about legalizing digital sports betting. But both passed the full House March 11, and bill sponsor Casey Eure says it’s time to negotiate.
One of the bills originally addressed tidelands. The other addressed fines for platforms operating illegally in the state. Language from a dead House digital wagering bill was put into the tidelands bill.
Retail betting has been legal in Mississippi’s casinos since 2018, but attempts since then to add the type of mobile betting available in other states have been rebuffed.
“It’s a possibility” that tidelands will not get addressed this year if the Senate fails to take up mobile sports betting, Eure said, according to the Clarion-Ledger. “But the House’s position is on mobile sports betting. We’re concerned about tidelands, but at this point, it’s all about negotiating.”
Whether the tactic will work is unclear, as the Senate Gaming Committee has not considered digital sports betting this year. Eure inserted the language into the Senate bills because the crossover deadline has passed. Only bills that have already crossed from one chamber to the other are currently in play. Mississippi’s legislature is set to adjourn April 6.
HHR, Sweepstakes in Holding Pattern in Maryland
Maryland lawmakers heard detailed testimony and asked equally as detailed questions during discussion of two gambling bills, but neither measure was called for a vote in committee.
Per iGB, in the House Ways and Means Committee March 11, a two-part hearing yielded no movement for a bill that would ban sweepstakes and another that would allow for historical horse racing machines at Maryland OTBs.
Maryland’s legislature has not passed any gaming expansion bill this session. So far, House and Senate committees have declined to move a legal online casino bill. Lawmakers and stakeholders are at odds on whether or not to legalize, resulting in a stalemate.
But a Senate committee March 7 did advance SB 860, which would ban sweepstakes platforms. The platforms are currently unregulated and the companies that run them do not pay taxes to the state. Casino companies say they should be prohibited.
Sweepstakes proponents maintained in testimony that their platforms are already technically legal in the state. They went on to say that HB 1140, which calls for prohibiting them, would also explicitly ban online casino and could have unintended consequences.
Josh White of KO Public Affairs testified on behalf of Australian-based sweepstakes operator VGW, saying the games are “just like Candy Crush,” the popular online tile game. Both that game and sweepstakes sites are “always free to play,” but consumers can purchase “game tokens for enhanced play.” He suggested that VGW uses sweepstakes-style “promotions in the same way that McDonald’s or Microsoft does,” as a marketing tool.
North Carolina has Strong First 12 Months
March 11 marked the one-year mark since North Carolina launched sports betting, and its regulator shared a snapshot of what the first year looked like.
According to the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, operators took $6.6 billion in bets during the first 12 months. The commission released an anniversary report describing the numbers from the first year, problem and responsible gambling initiatives, and how legalisation and launch happened.
According to the report, operators collected $713 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) and paid the state $128 million in taxes. The state charges an 18 percent tax on GGR.
The numbers fall in line with other states of similar size and situations, reports iGB. North Carolina has a population of 11 million people, several big-time college football and basketball teams, three major professional sports teams and multiple NASCAR venues.
During the legalisation process, North Carolina lawmakers prioritised problem and responsible gambling initiatives. The lottery commission is required to direct $2 million to the North Carolina Problem Gambling Program. Proceeds are used to support a gambling help line, treatment and education. The state also has a voluntary self-exclusion program.
Some proceeds are also directed to youth sports and universities across the state.
iGaming Ontario Still Without a New Leader
IGaming Ontario, the regulator for Ontario’s sports betting market, continues its search for a replacement for Executive Director Martha Otton, according to a March 11 Gaming News Canada post. Otton last August announced that she would retire at the end of 2024.
But in December, she agreed to stay on until the end of March. GNC reports that the agency has not yet found a replacement. It’s unlikely that a replacement will be found before the end of the month, as the agency “will not be in a position to comment at least until the caretaker period is over and the Premier announces his Cabinet.”
The Conservative Party and Douglas Ford won reelection in Ontario, it was announced March 10. The provincial legislature won’t go back into session until April 14.
In addition to the agency moving forward without an executive director, the vacancy that will be created means a delay in separating the IGO from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. That process, which started in November, will make the IGO an independent agency.
April 4 marks the third anniversary of go-live for sports betting platforms in Ontario.
In Other News ….
PrizePicks became the first fantasy sports operator to earn the Internet Compliance Assessment Program accreditation from the National Council for Problem Gambling, the company announced March 11. The accreditation is the highest online responsible gaming assessment program available.
