Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones this week in a news conference indicated that sports betting would be legal at some point in Texas. Jones appeared on KTCK-AM radio, where he claimed that betting was already taking place in Texas and legalizing it is just a matter of time.
“I certainly know that gambling as it pertains to our games is here. Frankly, it’s been here. The handwriting is on the wall. Gambling has been here a long time.”
Texas’s effort to legalize sports betting and casinos failed this year in the state legislature. Lawmakers won’t meet again in Austin until 2023. However, even if the lawmakers pass sports betting bill, the state constitution requires a referendum to vote for the bill. Thus is any chance, sports betting in Texas won’t happen until at least in 2025.
The neighboring state of Louisiana will soon be running legal sports betting. However, before betting begin in the state, the Gaming Control Board has to set rules to regulate gambling in the parishes where it is legal. Many people believe that sports betting in Louisiana won’t happen until early next year.