Eager to reverse a string of defeats at the Texas Legislature, pro-gambling forces are bringing a new attitude — and a pared-down vision — to the goal of allowing state-sanctioned casinos and sports betting in Texas.
Gone is the detailed vision of building destination resort casinos in Dallas, Fort Worth and other cities, including a proposed gambling oasis housing a new stadium for the Dallas Mavericks.
Delayed, for now, are plans to create a sports betting apparatus in Texas, which could have included betting parlors at race tracks and pro sports arenas or partnerships with online betting platforms.
With support in the Legislature still on shaky ground, the focus this session is on leveraging public support for gambling by pushing amendments to the Texas Constitution – putting the legalization of casinos and sports betting before voters in November.
The details can be hashed out in the future.
“Texans want to decide and vote on this issue, and we look forward to working with the Legislature to give them that opportunity this session,” said Andy Abboud, a senior vice president at Las Vegas Sands, a heavyweight in the casino industry that has been a driving force behind efforts to expand casinos in Texas.
Two brief resolutions, filed recently in the Texas House, would amend the Texas Constitution to give future lawmakers the power to set the boundaries of gambling in the state:
- House Joint Resolution 134 by Rep. Sam Harless, R-Spring, would give lawmakers the power to “authorize and regulate the placing of wagers on sporting events.” Sports wagering would be developed by existing sports teams, race tracks or sanctioned professional golf tournaments.
- House Joint Resolution 137 by Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, would give the Legislature power to “authorize and strictly regulate casino gaming and sports wagering.” There could be no more than 10 new casinos in Texas, and it would be up to future lawmakers to determine where the casinos would operate.
Leaving the details to future sessions of the Legislature is a departure from detailed proposals offered in previous sessions.
In 2023, Las Vegas Sands pushed a grandiose plan to build eight destination casinos in specific cities, prompting squabbling from areas denied a piece of the action.
Legislation to establish sports betting in 2023 and 2021 also focused on specifics, such as partnerships between gaming companies and professional sports franchises or race tracks.
Geren said he hoped the newly simplified approach is a step toward making casino gambling and sports betting a reality.
Last session’s effort “was just too complicated,” Geren said. “This one is pretty easy to read and I think that will help.”
Mike Lavigne, a longtime gambling consultant based in Austin, said the previous approach was wrongheaded.
“The mistake that they’re making over and over is cutting up the pie between owners before there’s even a law,” Lavigne said. “They come in, they’re trying to dictate who gets what and where, and that’s just never going to fly.”
Because the politics of gambling is too complicated to sort out before voters weigh in, the competition for gambling licenses, particularly for casinos, should come after a constitutional amendment is approved, he said.
“You can’t have some guy come in from Macau or Vegas and say, ‘Dallas gets two, Houston gets two. Austin gets one, maybe two. Galveston, maybe El Paso gets one,” Lavigne said.
A shift in momentum
Even with the change in direction, pro-gambling forces face long odds of success,
There is strong opposition from Christian conservatives, a powerful faction in the Republican Party, and the most recent state GOP platform opposes “any expansion of gambling, including legalized casino gambling.” The Texas Public Policy Foundation, an influential conservative think tank, also opposes gambling expansion in Texas.
The Senate has been particularly hostile to expanded gambling, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says there still isn’t enough Republican support there to move gambling legislation forward.
Despite the Legislature being in session for a month, supporters have yet to find a Republican senator willing to take on casino or sports betting legislation.
Pro-gambling forces had a taste of success in 2023, when a constitutional amendment allowing sports betting was approved 101-42 by the Texas House, and a pro-casino amendment was supported 92-51.
Unfortunately for casino backers, proposed amendments must receive two-thirds support, or 100 votes.
Sports bettors lost as well. Patrick, who presides over the Senate, did not refer the proposed amendment to a committee, halting progress before it could begin.
“The gambling industry has not been able to adequately convince the lieutenant governor that the benefits of gambling outweigh the societal costs of gambling,” said Rice University pollster and political scientist Mark Jones. “Many of the 20 Republican senators would follow the lead of the lieutenant governor on gambling.”
Patrick did not return two telephone calls and a text message to his office for comment. In the past, he’s said he won’t allow a floor vote on bills that are not supported by a majority of Republican senators.
In the House, Republican support has slipped since a majority of representatives backed casino and sports betting bills in 2023. Many of the 26 Republican newcomers — who ousted two Democrats and replaced 24 Republicans who retired or were defeated in last year’s primaries – actively oppose gambling or are focused on other issues.
Rob Kohler, a lobbyist for the Christian Life Commission-Baptist General Convention of Texas, which opposes gambling, has noticed a shift in momentum among gambling supporters.
“After this last election, they don’t even have those votes in the House, so the mood in the hallways is definitely at a different tone,” Kohler said.
Geren said he didn’t have a Senate sponsor for his bill and hadn’t taken the temperature in the House.
Asked about the prospects of his bill, Geren said: “I don’t have a clue.”
The appetite for gambling
Gambling expansion in Texas is a rare occurrence.
Voters in 1987 approved a constitutional amendment allowing the return of legal wagering on horse races, then voted in 1991 to legalize the state lottery, with both measures passing by a 2-1 margin. Texas today allows the lottery, bingo and horse and greyhound racing.
Pro-gambling forces take heart in recent polls showing support for additional forms of wagering.
A University of Houston poll conducted in January found 73% of Texas adults support “legalizing the construction and operation of destination resort casinos in Texas.” That included 74% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans.
Asked about legalizing online sports betting 60% of respondents approved, including 64% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans.
In addition, 56% of Texans support legalizing the operation of sports books in the stadiums and arenas of Texas professional sports teams – a potential for teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
Gambling proponents also got a boost when Gov. Greg Abbott recently told The Houston Chronicle that he is supportive of online sports betting.
Casino advocates play the long game
Sands — led by billionaire Miriam Adelson, whose family owns a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks — has spent several legislative sessions trying to build support for casinos.
Facing her first legislative session since taking control of the Mavericks, Adelson spent almost $14 million on Texas political donations in 2024, with most of the money going to two political action committees that sent donations to lawmakers, candidates and other political committees across Texas.
In 2022, before selling his majority stake in the Mavericks to Adelson, Mark Cuban floated the idea of building a new Dallas stadium inside a resort-style casino that would be developed by Sands — if Texas expanded casino gambling. (Native American tribes are allowed to operate three casinos in the state under federal oversight.)
A stadium-casino in Dallas remains a goal for Sands.
“The efforts to bring destination resorts to Texas has received an overwhelming amount of support from Texans and lawmakers since it was first introduced, and the groundswell of momentum is only continuing to build,” Abboud said.
Abboud said destination resorts would have “limitless benefits” and provide “tens of thousands of new jobs, billions in additional revenue for the state, funding for education and public safety, and much more.”
Sports betting advocates also hope their chances improve this session.
Though online betting is illegal in the state, platforms based in other countries accept bets from Texans, said Karina Kling with the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, which includes 12 Texas professional sports franchises, including the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers.
“The message from our polling is crystal clear: Right now, unregulated sports betting is happening across the state, putting consumers at risk and costing Texas millions in lost tax revenue every year,” Kling said. “It’s time to let Texans take control and decide if they want a strong, regulatory framework for sports betting — just like the 39 states that have already moved forward.”
A leading state business organization touts the potential economic benefit of expanded gambling.
“We think it’s very important to have destination gaming,” Glenn Hamer, CEO of the Texas Business Association, said on Lone Star Politics, produced by KXAS (NBC 5) and The Dallas Morning News.
“We’re talking six, seven destination resorts across the state of Texas. I do believe that one would be in the Dallas area. You have a great situation with the Dallas Mavericks,” Hamer said. “This is very important for our state’s tourism sector.”
Texas does well with tourism, Hamer said, “but we could be better, and we believe destination gaming and destination resorts would help us.”
Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Prosper, opposes expanding gambling, saying casinos and sports betting would do more hard than good.
“I have a whole coalition of organizations, and we’re going to make sure it’s dead, that it’s six feet under,” Shaheen said.
“I don’t see any movement for gambling of any form over in the Senate, and it won’t pass the House,” he said. “Gambling is incredibly bad for the state of Texas. It’ll make domestic violence worse, it’ll make sex trafficking worse, it’ll make crime worse. It’ll create more poverty.”
Time to fold or keep grinding?
Some gambling proponents are paying close attention to the relationship between President Donald Trump and Adelson, who was prominent at his inauguration and gave $100 million to his presidential campaign.
Trump used to be in the resort casino business and has close ties to Patrick, who chaired Trump’s Texas campaign during all three presidential runs.
Hamer, the business leader, said he’s not ready to throw in his cards.
“We’re going to keep grinding,” he said. “We know that that money is going to be spent somewhere. We’d rather it be spent here in the state of Texas than, say, Louisiana, Oklahoma or anywhere else. And we’re confident at some point this will go through.”
Gambling opponent Kohler is reasonably gambling supporters have overplayed their hand, at least for this legislative session.
“They are going to have to fold their cards and wait until next time,” Kohler said.
