Mobile sports betting and commercial land-based casinos were all on the agenda for this year’s legislative session, but neither gained much traction, and Texas has also threatened to dissolve the Texas Lottery Commission.
Texas Refuses to Hear Gambling Bills
The Las Vegas Sands has circled Texas as its next big market and has spent millions of dollars lobbying politicians and getting the word out that a commercial casino and resort at the old Texas Stadium site was a good idea.
However, in March, the residents of that community in Irving testified against the proposal, and the city council voted, 6-3, in two separate decisions to amend the zoning proposal, removing the casino component.
It proved to be a moot point, as the legislature did not even hear casino gambling bills, and it will be 2028 at the earliest that casino gambling could come to the Lone Star State. Despite the setback, a spokesperson from the Sands believes there is simply more work to do, and eventually, legislators will change, and so too will legislative perspectives.
Andy Abboud, a senior vice president at Sands, said in a prepared statement, “We’re happy with the progress we made this session. We have always said this will be a marathon, and we still strongly believe that destination resorts coming to Texas is inevitable, which is why we’re not going anywhere.”
The pro-gambling lobbying group, the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, which includes the state’s professional sports teams, who are all in favor of mobile sports wagering, is not giving up its efforts in Texas either. “We’re disappointed Texans didn’t get the chance to vote to legalize sports betting this year, but we know it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” said Karina Kling, a spokesperson for the Sports Betting Alliance. “The fact is, Texans are already doing this, but through illegal, offshore operators. We’ll keep working to educate people on how legalizing sports betting in Texas would protect consumers and bring financial benefits to the state.”
Lottery Commission Gets the Boot
The Texas Lottery Commission has apparently not weathered a storm that scandalized the agency after a syndicate used DraftKings-owned Jackpocket, a lottery courier service, to buy enough tickets to effectively guarantee they had every combination to win the grand prize at the Texas Lotto jackpot.
The Texas Lottery Executive Director, Ryan Mindell, soon resigned after the scandal broke, but the scar the scandal left has not healed, and Senate Bill 3070, sponsored by Senator Bob Hall, has passed both the Senate and House after a series of amendments and will effectively terminate the Texas Lottery Commission and will put lottery gaming governance under the auspices of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).
In 2029, the state will review whether or not to keep the lottery open. If Texas were to close the lottery, it would be the first of 45 states to do so and end the flow of funds that has generated over $35 billion in revenue for state education and veteran benefits since it launched in Texas in 1992.
