Some legislators want it, the public wants it, a coalition of major professional teams and organizations are pushing for it, so why has it taken so long for sports betting to be legal in Texas?
If it does become legal in 2023 it will largely be because of the efforts of a group that formed in 2021 to try and get legislators in Austin to approve sports betting.
The Texas Sports Betting Alliance (TSBA) has been at the forefront of the issue. The TSBA is composed of professional sports franchises, as well as gambling companies, and has been lobbying lawmakers.
TSBA’s Cara Gustafson told Houston’s NBC affiliate that in addition to trying to get sports betting to the Lone Star State they are also educating lawmakers on the dangers of illegal gambling.
“We’ve been having great ongoing conversations in both chambers on both sides of the aisle,” Gustafson said. “Again, really educating them on what the illegal market is happening here in Texas.”
It has been a long road to this point. The TSBA has been working on getting a constitutional amendment authorizing gambling on sporting events in Texas onto a statewide ballot. Their efforts failed two years ago and there is no reason to believe they will be any more successful next year.
The main reason sports betting efforts stalled was because Lt. Governor Dan Patrick was vehemently opposed. He serves as president of the state senate and quashed any attempt to bring a bill to the floor. He is up for reelection next week and is expected to win.
So is Governor Greg Abbott, and like Patrick, he is expected to win as well. Abbott has been a supporter of sports wagering and may put pressure on Patrick to at least let a vote get to the senate floor.
For now, the TSBA is trying to calculate what their strategy will be in 2023. One selling point is the money and jobs it will create in Texas. One independent report estimated it would generate $278 million dollars in tax revenue and create approximately 2,000 jobs.
One of the state’s most famous gamblers is Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, a Houston-based furniture salesman who has gained fame after placing multimillion-dollar sports bets in recent years and hedging them with business promotions. He supports sports betting in his home state but is realistic about its chances.
“Given what I know about who the players are in Texas, I don’t see it happening during my lifetime in the next thirty years,” said McIngvale, who has to go across state lines to make his gigantic wagers. “Then again, I’ve been wrong many times.”