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If you’re reading this, then you know Texas sports betting remains illegal. The Lone Star State is one of 11 states left without a legalized sports betting market — a number that’s dwindling by the years (Missouri sports betting became the latest to embrace it).
However, there are many movers and shakers in the state trying to change that. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has come out in favor of legalization multiple times. However, his support pales in comparison to the Dallas Mavericks owner, Miriam Adelson.
That’s still a weird one to write or say out loud. The team has famously been owned by Mark Cuban. However, Cuban sold the majority of his stake to Adelson, who is the husband of the late Sheldon — who built a casino empire with The Sands. Unlike Jones, Adelson is expressing her support for legalization with her wallet, not just her mouth. A new report has given us insight into just how much support Adelson is trying to buy up, which we’ll get into next.
Adelson Donates Millions To Texan Politicians
Like it or not, money gets things done in politics. There’s no better way to influence policy than by donating to politicians in hoping they “throw you a bone” per se. Everyone does this up and down the country on a variety of issues — and so is Adelson to influence gambling policy.
The Dallas Morning News just released some new info on those efforts. They’ve found that Adelson has made $13.7 million in donations during the first 10 months of 2024. This is a significant step up compared to the $3.3 million she donated in 2023 — about a 4X markup for those mathematically challenged.
The majority of the donations were funneled into two political action committees, which then spread the funds to lawmakers, candidates, and other political groups across Texas. No surprise, over $8.2 million went to Republicans, who run the conservative state. Key figures received this money, including $200,000 for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who oversees the Senate, and $1.02 million for House Speaker Dade Phelan. Democrats scored $948,500 of Adelson’s donation.
This is timely because the new legislative year kicks off on January 14. Texas is unique in that it only meets on odd-numbered years. The last time they met, in 2023, legalized sports betting made some progress. A bill around betting passed the House before dying out without a vote. Around the time, the aforementioned lieutenant governor was very open about why there was no vote held:
“I’ve said repeatedly there is little to no support for expanding gaming from Senate GOP. I polled members this week. Nothing changed. The Senate must focus on issues voters expect us to pass. We don’t waste time on bills without overwhelming GOP support. HB1942 won’t be referred.”
Has anything changed since he uttered those words in 2023? Well, no really as we’ll cover in the next section.
Republicans Aren’t Buying Betting
Patrick is the main roadblock to Adelson’s ambitions (more on that later). He’s essentially the second-most powerful politician in Texas after the governor and you don’t have to wonder where he stands on betting cause he’s repeatedly told us. Take this quote made in November:
“You don’t pass major legislation in a red, conservative state with the Democrats controlling the show, particularly on a major bill like that,” Patrick said. “They’ve come in and spent millions and millions of dollars and they just think that magically it happens. It doesn’t.”
That’s a direct shot at Adelson’s money and Democratic politicians who have been more open to betting. Not only that, but even the 2024 Texas Republican Party platform has a note on betting — and not a good one. The platform mentions not expanding betting and even going as far as saying to reject donations from pro-gambling groups. Yikes.
Here’s the thing too: there’s no way to avoid Patrick or the other Republicans. In Texas, new gambling rules require amending the state’s constitution. That would require two-thirds of the House and Senate then approval by a majority of voters in a statewide election. Getting that two-thirds voting from in-state Republicans is the harder of the two to achieve at this point.
Adelson Has Ambitious Plans
We’ve gone this entire article without directly mentioning Adeleon’s plans if betting is ever legalized in the state. Of course, she wants to build a casino, but not just any casino — a hybrid casino and resort that would also be home to the Mavericks’ brand-new arena. Cuban has said this plan openly.
“My goal, and we’d partner with Las Vegas Sands, is when we build a new arena it’ll be in the middle of a resort and casino, That’s the mission,” Cuban has been quoted.
Cuban believes this will make Dallas a “destination” city — in the same way Las Vegas or Miami is. It makes sense, right? Dallas has one of the biggest metros in the country, but it’s not really a place that draws tourists like the aforementioned cities.
But is a casino enough to change that? We have our doubts no matter how grand the casino ends up. These days, betting has become commonplace across the country. Bettors don’t need to travel far to get action. Heck, most can get it online from their homes.
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