Texas Sports Betting in 2024

Timeline of updates surrounding sports betting in Texas:

• November 13th, 2024: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, also known as the godfather of legal U.S. sports betting, told Covers Maganize in an interview, “I think (legalization will) happen in Texas in the next legislative session.”.
• November 15, 2021: Louisiana continues to see East Texans flock to Lake Charles and other venues with Texas years away from legalizing sports betting. The numbers are expected to grow when Louisiana online betting launches.
• May 31, 2021: The Texas legislature's session concludes without any Texas sports betting bills being put to a vote. All bills about legalizing sports betting for Texas sports bettors die in committee.
• May 25, 2021: Bill HB393 is introduced. This bill is designed to define a bet for purposes of gambling criminal offenses relating to sports betting legalization.
• April 14, 2021 - The owners of the Las Vegas Sands launch a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign supporting House Joint Resolution 133. This bill would legalize casino games at four casinos in the state’s four biggest cities: Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.
• March 4, 2021: Bill HB1121 is introduced. It would allow for sportsbook operators to provide statewide mobile sports betting with a cap of five licenses. Gross gaming revenue would be taxed at 6.25%, and the legal age to wager would be 18.
• February 8, 2021: Many of the most prominent people in ownership of Texas professional sports teams join together to form the Sports Betting Alliance. The group's objective is to lobby government officials and rally public support to legalize sports betting. Among this group are Jerry Jones, owner of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. Other professional sports teams involved in the Sports Betting Alliance include the NHL's Dallas Stars, MLB's Texas Rangers, and FC Dallas of the MLS.
• February 27, 2019: Democratic Representative Eddie Lucio III introduced bill HB1275, which would make betting on sports in Texas legal. The bill would allow sports gambling on both pro and college sports and offer both mobile and online gambling. Lucio also introduces House Joint Resolution 61. This would enable a referendum to amend the state constitution to allow legal sports betting in Texas.

Currently, no form of sports gambling is legal in Texas. After the most recent sports betting HB 1942 was discussed through the House in the 2023 Texas legislative session, Governor Dan Patrick said the bill would not receive any consideration from the Senate. 

When it comes to sports betting markets, all signs indicate that Texas legislators aren't listening to the majority of Texans. According to a Dallas Morning News/University of Texas-Tyler poll, 57% of residents want access to casino games and 43% support legalized sports betting. 

Estimates offered by experts in the gaming industry suggest that the people of the Lone Star State are already spending as much as $2.5 billion a year in neighboring states such as Oklahoma and Louisiana that offer casino games, legal sports wagering, and online gambling.

If people in the Lone Star State want to get a bet on sports down on Texas teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Astros or Houston Texans, Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers, San Antonio Spurs, or top college sports teams such as the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders, they'll need to cross state boundaries into Louisiana, where they recently decided to legalize sports betting and sportsbook operators should provide a robust sports betting market.

With no Texas sports betting bill on the go to be considered by Texas legislators, the absolute earliest it would appear that legalized sports betting in Texas will be offered is 2025.

When the time does come that Texas opts to offer legalized sports betting, we expect all of the leading U.S.-based online and mobile sports betting operators lining up to grab a piece of the massive Texas sports betting markets by becoming Texas sports betting sites. 

As the second-most populous state in the union, industry insiders are estimating that the Texas sports betting markets could generate more than $230 million in revenue annually for the state coffers.

DraftKings Sportsbook

If there's legal sports betting in the state, then it's a virtual certainty that the DraftKings Sportsbook will be showing up there. One of the biggest powerhouses in online sports betting in the USA, DraftKings Sportsbook utilizes the capital they've already gained via their daily fantasy sports platform to convert those customers over to legal sports betting. 

FanDuel Sportsbook

Like DraftKings, FanDuel Sportsbook has also been able to parlay the company's Daily Fantasy sports empire to become a major USA player in online sports betting. Being among the Texas sports betting sites will be a natural transition for FanDuel. Typically, FanDuel and DraftKings are the first online sportsbooks on the scene when a state opts to legalize sports betting. FanDuel is owned by Flutter Entertainment, a British betting superpower whose list of online sports betting sites also includes Betfair and Paddy Power.

BetMGM Sportsbook

A major player in the hotel and casino industry for decades, MGM Resorts has also made a smooth transition into the US legal sports betting market. BetMGM Sportsbook is the company's online sports betting arm. Already, BetMGM has a sports betting presence in 14 different states and is usually alongside DraftKings and FanDuel at the front of the line when new states launch.

PointsBet Sportsbook

Built into one of the major online sportsbooks in Australia, the PointsBet Sportsbook has moved aggressively into the USA sports betting market. They've established a headquarters in the USA and are expanding across the country. As states make sports betting legal, PointsBet is often there to open up shop. It figures to be part of Texas online sports betting, offering its unique PointsBetting wagering feature.

Despite apparent evidence that the public is in favor of betting on sports in Texas at Texas sportsbooks, the Republican-led state government, led by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, has vowed that legalized sports betting will never happen in the Lone Star State on their watch.

Unlike most states, making sports gambling legal in Texas isn't merely a matter of altering or changing the law. Such a move to make online betting legal in Texas will require a referendum that would amend the state constitution. In the state of Texas, sports gambling is outlawed by a constitutional provision.

To change this and make it possible for Texas sports bettors to place wagers that are legal in Texas, several elements will be required. Passing any of the state's sports betting bills must receive the support of a two-thirds majority in both the state House of Representatives and Senate. After that, the measure must then be put in the ballot during state elections and be approved by a majority of voters.

In the days of the Wild West, when men like Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson ruled, gambling in Texas was as prevalent as cowboys and cattle ranchers. Every saloon offered card playing and other games of chance. However, as Texas reformed from its frontier foundations, the state also grew to be conservative with a capital C when it came to all forms of gambling.

RELATED: Which States Will Legalize Online Sports Betting In 2024?

Texas Sports Betting History

2021: The state legislature concludes its 2021 session without considering any of the ongoing bills designed to legalize betting on sports in Texas. Earlier in the year, sports betting bills HB393 and HB1121, both designed to help legalize betting in Texas through Texas sportsbooks, were introduced in the state house.

2019: Sports betting bill HB1275, the first of several attempts by Texas legislators to make it legal to bet on sports, is introduced in the state house.

2018: In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, paving the way for all states to legalize single-game sports wagering.

2015: Contradicting the Texas government, the National Indian Gaming Commission issued an opinion that the Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta tribes could legally conduct gaming. That led to both tribes reopening their casinos.

2001: The Alabama-Coushatta tribe opened an entertainment center. The facility provided slots, blackjack and poker. The Texas government took legal action and shut the casino down in 2002.

1996: The Kickapoo tribe opened a casino offering bingo, poker, a variant of blackjack and electronic pull-tab dispensers that operated similar to slot machines. The Texas government took the Kickapoo to court, claiming slot machines violated state law. The government won the case and the casino was shut down in 2002.

1993: Through the state's Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Tigua tribe of Texas opened up Speaking Rock high-stakes bingo hall. Slot machines were added in 1996.

1992: The Texas Lottery is legalized and launched across the state. The state lottery offers scratch-off and drawing games, including the multi-jurisdiction Mega Millions and Powerball games.

1989: Casino cruises, which offer casino games once the ship reaches international waters, begin docking in Texas ports. Raffles are legalized as charitable fundraisers. However, cash prizes are not permitted.

1981: Bingo is legalized in Texas. All funds from these bingos must be earmarked for charitable organizations.

1933: Pari-mutuel wagering is legalized in Texas, designed to help generate revenue during the Great Depression. Currently, three class-one racetracks are operating in the state - Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Retama Park in Selma, and Sam Houston Race Park in Houston. Gillespie County Fair in Fredericksburg operates as a class-three facility. There are also three greyhound tracks offering pari-mutuel, although only one, Gulf Greyhound Park, offers live racing. There is simulcast wagering available at Gulf Coast Racing and Valley Race Park.

1903: All forms of gambling, including pari-mutuel wagering, are outlawed in Texas. The Texas State Fair and Rodeo, which built its product around horse racing, ceases to operate.

Like the challenge to legalize sports betting in Texas, daily fantasy sports also endured a long, drawn-out battle before it was permitted in the state. While it was available online in the state, the question remained whether DFS was legal in Texas. 

This was settled in 2019 when a resolution in the Texas State House declared that DFS was not a game of chance (and therefore gambling) but was, in fact, a play-for-play game of skill. 

All of the leading DFS sites, including DraftKings and FanDuel , now do business in Texas without fear of being shut down.

All forms of betting are illegal in Texas. If sports betting becomes legal in Lone Star State, most likely, all of the top online sports betting apps, such as BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbooks, and bet365, will offer a mobile app from which sports bets can also be made. 

Following what operators have done in states where sports betting is legal, these mobile apps will be compatible with both Android and iOS devices. They will offer download links directly from their website. 

With most, it will be possible to download the app onto a mobile device and then utilize the app to sign up with their site. The best mobile apps will work as seamlessly and offer the same sports gambling services as a desktop site.

If Texas opts to legalize sports betting, expect that Texas sportsbooks will offer three standard types of sign-up bonuses. There's a first bet protection bonus, which refunds your first wager up to a certain amount should it lose, with the refund in the form of bet credits.

Another common sign-up bonus is a matching first deposit bonus. Many sites match at 100% while some match at a lower percentage. Again, a set amount is established by a Texas sports betting site. This total will be matched during a player's first deposit. So, if the set amount were $250, then a $250 deposit would turn into $500 if it is a 100% match.

Thirdly, there are no deposit bonuses. These are usually small stipends - around $25-$50 - that are given to a new player to use for online sports betting.

Top sports betting sites will continue to offer promotions well after a player has joined their site. These could be deposit reload bonuses, parlay insurance, and odds boosts, to name a few.

In the latter case, a selected game of interest to Texas bettors - it could be a San Antonio-Houston NBA game, or perhaps a college sports event such as a Cotton Bowl game featuring the Texas Longhorns - will see the odds juiced to a higher than normal level.

If sports betting becomes legal in Texas, sports bettors could bet on the following markets:

• ➡️ Moneyline: Bet on who you think will win a game straight up.
• ➡️ Point spread: Bet on a team to win by a certain amount of points (“the spread”) or on a team to lose within a certain amount of points or win outright.
• ➡️ Total: Bet on how many points will be scored in a game.
• ➡️ Parlay: Bet several wagers together to get an increased payout.
• ➡️ Same game parlay: Bet several wagers together from within the same game to get an increased payout.
• ➡️ Props: Bet on specific events to take place during a game.
• ➡️ Future bets: Bet on something to take place in the future.
• ➡️ Live bets: Wager on sports while the action is taking place live.

Few states can boast the depth of sports offering that Texas provides. There are professional sports teams in all of the major North American sports leagues. 

The NFL includes the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans. In MLB, there's the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. 

The NBA features the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets. The NHL has the Dallas Stars, while MLS goes three deep in Texas franchises with FC Dallas, the Houston Dynamos and Austin FC.

College sports are also massive in the Lone Star State. The Texas Longhorns, Texas Tech Red Raiders, TCU Horned Frogs, Rice Owls, SMU Mustangs, Baylor Bears and Texas A&M Aggies are the biggest programs among many Texas schools.

Whether you're talking about professional sports teams or college sports, there will be no shortage of betting opportunities once sports betting is legal in Texas.

Dallas Cowboys

Win or lose, America's team will always be the biggest game in the state of Texas. The Cowboys are one of those teams that are known worldwide. The star logo on the side of the helmet is recognized everywhere. No one is indifferent when it comes to the Cowboys.

Houston Astros

Like the Cowboys, the Astros are a team about which everyone has an opinion. Perhaps they've managed to win by the utilization of questionable means. The fact of the matter is that they just keep on winning and have been to six consecutive ALCS.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks appear to be a team on the cusp of making a breakthrough into the NBA elite. They're led by superstar and legitimate NBA MVP candidate Luka Doncic. Owner Mark Cuban is among the most recognizable faces in the world.

San Antonio Spurs

In a sport where individual brilliance is celebrated, the Spurs won five NBA titles and went to six finals between 1999-2014 by embracing the team concept. Coach Gregg Popovich is recognized as one of the great minds of basketball. At various times during their dynasty, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Kawhi Leonard took turns filling starring roles.

Texas Longhorns & Texas A&M Aggies

There are plenty of major colleges in Texas, but the two with the biggest followings are the state schools. Although they play in different conferences, the rivalry between the two remains as ferocious as ever.