The State of the Sports Betting Scene in Texas

They say that everything is bigger in Texas! Those in charge of the desire and push to legalize sports betting in the state would probably beg to differ. It has been over four years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned their blanket ban on sports betting in the country. 30 U.S. states plus Washington DC have capitalized on that decision and now are reaping the benefits of a functional, regulated, legalized sports betting platform - 33 in total have paved the way for legal wagers in their state.

Will Texas soon follow suit? It certainly doesn't look likely in the immediate future. It is a shame. After all, with the nation's second highest population and high-profile teams in all four of North America's major sports leagues, a betting platform seems like a natural fit for Texas.

Conservatism, unfortunately, has deep roots in Texas and is holding up the process of sports betting legalization.

The good news for Texas is that there is almost unprecedented momentum for legalization. A coalition of Texas sports teams has signaled their desires to get something done. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has voiced support as has Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. The Texas Rangers owner has also publicly stated his support for some sort of sports betting for his state. Even the Democratic candidate for Governor in the state, Beto O'Rourke has signaled his intention to push for legalization if he is elected.

The public seems open to the idea as well. Back in 2021, the Dallas Morning News and University of Texas at Tyler conducted a survey in which  57% of Texans support allowing casino gambling in the Lone Star State. 29% were opposed and 13% had no opinion.

The support for legalized sports betting is there!

Check out the latest comprehensive and most trusted Sportsbook Reviews by SBR.

Why the push?

It is not lost on proponents of a legal sports betting platform in Texas just how successful and lucrative other jurisdictions have been since 2018. Jobs have been created, "fan engagement" in sports is at an all-time high in those states and the tax revenue generated has been remarkable.

There is currently legal sports betting all around Texas. Louisiana, their neighbor to the east, is now a top-10 U.S. jurisdiction. The state brought in $171.1 million in sports betting in May, $208.2 million in April. Mattress Mack, a Texas businessman has almost kept the Louisiana legal sport betting scene alive by himself!

Texas's neighbor to the West, New Mexico, also allows retail sports betting and is close to bringing in a mobile sports wagering platform and Colorado to their north has been very successful. Colorado to the north has consistently been a Top-6 revenue generating state and took in $360.3 million in May.

Colorado's legal sports betting providers have taken in $7.3 billion since the platform went live in May 2020.

Arizona, which technically lies in Texas's Southern region has been even more impressive in their ascension into the Top-10 sports betting states, Despite having 22 million less residents than Texas, it finished sixth in the nation in terms of revenue in April behind New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.

Arizona's legal sports betting scene generated $512.9 million in April and $691 million in March and has eclipsed the $500 million plateau in three of the first four months of 2022.

So, what's the holdup?

Texas's legislature is unique in that it only sits in odd-numbered years. That's right, in even years, no legislation gets put forth, debated, or even passed... unless it is an executive action by the governor. It makes it impossible that we will see anything done the rest of this year.

Bill HB 2070 in 2021 was Texas's best attempt yet and was expected to bring approximately $40 million annually in revenues upon maturity, mostly to be used in the funding of schools.

Bill HB 2070 was a detailed piece of legislation that should have gained more traction... but it didn't.

At the time, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has not been shy in the past about his opposition to a legal sports betting platform in his state, effectively led the charge to kill the 2021 attempt.

The chances we see something in 2023?

The momentum and the desire for legal sports betting in Texas is there. So is the desire to seize on the tax dollars generated from such a platform. As long as there is a coalition of high-profile sports teams and lawmakers such as the Texas House Committee on State Affairs, Rep. Dan Huberty, there is always a chance.

"It's in the best interest for Texas to implement a strict regulatory policy about [sports betting]. It's already happening. People acknowledge it's already happening. And so, we want to make sure that it's transparent, is trustworthy, that's got integrity to it, and it will generate additional funding for the state of Texas," Huberty said back in 2021.

“Gambling is here. This bill [Bill HB 2070] will do two things. It will legalize and regulate monies that come into the state from sports betting and as many of you know, I have fought very hard for special education revenue specifically and monies would go into that and the general education fund,” added Huberty.

As long as Texas’s neighboring state continues to rake in the revenue, legal sports betting will continue  to get the attention of Texas lawmakers.

For now, even DFS is technically illegal in the state of Texas. But the two Fantasy giants-turned sports betting behemoths DraftKings and FanDuel have been making a strong push to add Texas to the legal sports betting family. That said, Attorney General Ken Paxton has a fair amount of influence in the state and doesn't want to see the two providers succeed.

Big money flowing into the state via some of the massive gambling providers like DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and MGM is going to be hard to ignore, as is the infrastructure projects that will accompany the almost-guaranteed retail sports betting facilities that will follow.

“Las Vegas Sands created a Texas based political action committee in early January signaling that they want to be involved in elections here," Patrick Svitek is a political correspondent for the Texas Tribune said. "It’s a sign that they are [still] committed to Texas, [still] committed to building support here.”

So, it is a familiar "wait and see" for Texas legal sports betting fans. But the chances of legalization are better than they ever have been. That said, analysts are still giving the chances a less-than 50/50 chance in 2023. Stay tuned!

Make sure to keep an eye on our Live Odds page throughout the week to get the best lines possible and connect with others in the SBR community on our popular sports betting forum.