When it comes to questionable financial choices, gambling is somewhere between hoarding Beanie Babies (as an investment) and buying a timeshare from a guy in a parking lot. Despite evidence that gambling is essentially an elaborate way to set your money on fire, the industry remains steadfast in its mission to bring casinos to Texas.
Unfazed by years of repeated failures in the Texas Capitol, gambling advocates are still pushing to legalize casinos and sports betting in a state that has long embraced restrictive gaming laws, the Texas Tribune reported. Because what Texans clearly need — aside from relief from our hot-as-balls summers — is the thrill of watching our uncles wager the grocery budget on a blackjack hand.
For the third consecutive legislative session, the Las Vegas Sands casino empire has assembled an all-star lineup of lobbyists in an attempt to persuade the Republican-controlled Legislature to approve “destination resorts” with casino gambling in Texas’ largest cities.
Of course, the only true destination a casino provides is an empty wallet and a lot of watered-down drinks.
Full disclosure: I’ve gambled less than a dozen times in my life, always at casinos. And there were some fun memories, like when a friend and I hit a slot machine jackpot in college and used the winnings for a trip to New Orleans. Or the time I found myself at a craps table, opposite NSYNC member Lance Bass (which thrilled my younger cousins).
But mostly, my experiences were watching the money in my pocket dwindle as the casinos’ odds ground me down. In my experience, the house almost always won.
Still, it’s not just casinos trying to enter the Lone Star State! There’s also the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, an unholy coalition that includes professional sports teams, racetracks, and betting platforms like FanDuel and DraftKings.
Their website includes an endorsement from former Gov. Rick Perry, who advocated for “legalizing mobile sports betting” to “finally allow the state to protect consumers from illegal offshore betting sites.”
He predicted, according to a quote on the alliance’s website, that “Texas could generate up to $556 million per biennium as the market matures.”
“Given that Texans are already participating in mobile sports betting, legalization would be a home run for all involved,” he said. Great sports analogy, Rick! Even though a better gambling comparison would be getting hit by a pitch.
Despite Perry’s enthusiastic pitch, mobile sports betting hasn’t worked out in other states. Despite similar pie-in-the-sky promises from mobile sports betting boosters in New Jersey, research found that $2.4 billion spent by online gamblers there in 2022 “decreased New Jersey’s economic activity by about $180 million.”
Still, gambling advocates in Texas are trying to capitalize on momentum from 2023, when a proposal to legalize online sports betting squeaked through the Texas House before being swiftly shot down by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Patrick, who wields ultimate control over the Texas Senate, wasted no time dismissing the measure, reiterating that there is little-to-no-support among the chamber’s GOP majority for gambling expansion.
But don’t tell that to Las Vegas Sands senior vice president of government relations Andy Abboud, who is a big fan of throwing your money in the trash. “The effort 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, per the Texas Tribune. Ah yes, the “groundswell of momentum” — which in plain English translates to “we’ve funneled a lot of money into lobbying, and we’re hoping for the best.”
And he’s not wrong: There is widespread support for gambling legalization among Texans. A study by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston showed that 73% of Texans favor allowing destination resort casinos in the state. And 60% support legalizing online sports betting.
But there are a lot of opponents of expanded gambling, including the Texas Republican Party, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and advocacy groups like Texans Against Gambling, who argue that casinos and sports betting exploit vulnerable communities and ultimately damage economic growth. In a statement, Texans Against Gambling declared, “Sports gambling and casinos are economically regressive, scholarly studies show, because they produce nothing of external value. They do not spur long-term economic growth. Instead, they hinder it. Keep Texas, Texas.”
Or, to put it more bluntly, opening casinos in Texas is like inviting a skunk to a backyard barbecue — you might think it’ll spice things up, but in the end, it’s just going to stink.
For his part, Gov. Greg Abbott recently told the Houston Chronicle, “I don’t have a problem” with legalizing sports betting.
So, where does this leave Texas? Will the state eventually cave and transform into the Lone Star version of Atlantic City? Or will lawmakers continue to shut down casino proposals with the force of a pissed-off nightclub bouncer?
One thing is certain: The gambling industry isn’t giving up. Like that one guy at the poker table who refuses to fold, they’re betting that Texas will eventually give in. And if gamblers are known for anything, it’s their willingness to double down — even when the odds are against them.
