Cowboys, Rangers and Mavericks join push to legalize sports betting in Texas: report

The largest sports teams in Texas are getting together to support the legalization of sports betting in the Lone Star State, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks are all reportedly backing legislation that will allow Texans to vote to lift their state’s ban on gambling. The Sports Betting Alliance, a coalition of franchises and betting platforms, is behind the push for legalization.

“Unregulated and illegal sports gambling is already taking place in the State of Texas,” Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President Charlotte Jones told the Morning News.

Twenty-five states have legalized sports betting since 2018, but the Morning News noted that some large states such as California, Florida and Texas have so far resisted doing the same.

Citing market analysis from The New York Times, the Morning News noted that the revenue generated from sports betting could be worth billions nationally.

The outlet noted that since gambling is banned in Texas, sports betting would require two legislative moves: one to amend the state constitution and another that would detail the licensing and regulation of in-state gambling.

A current draft of the bill stipulates that bettors could receive a maximum of 90 percent of their winnings, the Morning News reported. The author of the bill, GOP State Rep. Dan Huberty, told the Morning News that the 10 percent that was collected would go toward special education in Texas.

“It could generate several hundred million dollars,” Huberty said.

The Morning News reported that Texans are currently taking their money to other states to gamble, spending at least $2.5 billion in out-of-states casinos. 

The Sports Betting Alliance told the newspaper that it does not have an official stance on legalizing casinos. The newspaper noted, however, that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has expressed support for legalizing both sports betting and casinos in Texas.

“I think it’s time,” Cuban said to the Morning News. “It makes no sense for us to force Texans to go to neighboring states to gamble in casinos.”