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You’d think that with how much attention has gone to the Texas sports betting push, there’d be more optimism for things as the laws try to get changed for the future. Previously, there was hope that betting would be legalized in 2025, but that didn’t happen. Now, folks are shifting their attention to next year, as legislation will be set to meet if positive steps can be taken. However, Texas sports betting doesn’t have strong odds for 2025 already. Yeah, this is a huge disappointment.
According to a report, officials and lawmakers are worried that things are already going in the wrong direction for the ’25 efforts. Previously, there was hope that Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones, owners of the Mavericks and Cowboys, respectively, would lead the charge from a higher-ups standpoint and put pressure on others to follow suit. However, Cuban has since slowed down his talks on things, which is a bit of a bummer.
Jones remains all-in on betting, as he knows how much fun it could be for people to head to AT&T Stadium and check the NFL betting odds for the Cowboys. However, as excited as Jones is for the possibility, there are tons of roadblocks standing in the way of Texas making this happen. Texas is one of about 10 states that are yet to legalize betting in the USA. The fact that Texas is way behind the curve here is downright shocking.
This latest update isn’t going to instill a lot of confidence either. Republicans in Texas continue to get in the way of any kind of progress to be made for the sports betting efforts. If things don’t come to the area by 2025, then the main fear is that people will have to wait until 2027 for history to be made. That’d be the worst-case scenario for Texas and no one wants to see it happen. It remains up in the air how things will shake out, but folks are quite nervous these days.
Without sufficient support from the Texas Senate, it appears that sports betting will have to wait until at least 2025 to be legal in the Lone Star State
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) May 15, 2023
Illegal NFL betting was a huge issue for Texas during the postseason
It goes without saying, but illegal NFL betting was a huge issue for Texas during the postseason. That’s because the Dallas Cowboys, the team owned by Jones, had huge hopes of getting back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the mid-90s. However, things didn’t go as planned, as Dallas and Dak Prescott ran into the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round. In shocking fashion, Green Bay came out on top.
Loads of illegal bets went on the Cowboys to post a win in that showdown, but the opposite was the case. Prescott had one of the worst games of his season, highlighted by a pick-six he tossed in the first half. After that interception, people were not only calling for him to hit the bench, but countless Dallas supporters also wanted head coach Mike McCarthy to be fired. McCarthy will get one more season with the Cowboys, but his future is a bit up in the air.
I knew right away [Dallas] was the right opportunity. – DC Mike Zimmer ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/PsfUP1aOf6
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) February 16, 2024
“This is not a talk yourself into it (issue),’” Jones said via the team website on keeping McCarthy. “It obviously gives you a lot of things to consider and think about. Everybody has options. This is one I’m very comfortable with. I felt good during the year with the job that Mike was doing. The team was responding well. We were all disappointed that we didn’t win that Green Bay game. We had visions of a lot better than that; we all did. But there are things there that we can take forward.”
In addition to people all over Texas placing illegal bets on the Cowboys, there’s no question that Super Bowl betting was also quite high earlier this month. People were using off-shore accounts or illegal bookies to get their Super Bowl bets in, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking down the 49ers in an overtime thriller. This will be an ongoing issue in Texas until laws are changed, but again, no one has any idea when that’s going to happen.
A betting bill remains pre-filed for 2025
One thing that gives people a little bit of hope for changes in the next year is that a betting bill remains pre-filed for 2025. With things off the table for 2024, a sports betting bill was pre-filed in legislation a long time ago. This shows that at least some politicians know how much the betting revenue could be, as they’re looking to bring betting to the state. It’s obviously a long process, though, and this bill isn’t going to get approved overnight. Having said that, it sure has people talking.
Soon enough, the efforts will increase to push the bill forward, but the fact that it was posted months ago feels like it will be beneficial down the road. Texas has wanted sports betting for years now, but efforts have been rushed in the past. This isn’t the case this time around. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening, but this particular betting bill will be one to keep an eye on.
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