This page contains archived news updates for Texas Casinos from 2024. These items were originally posted on the casino's profile page and have been preserved here as part of the 500 Nations legacy news archive. Major stories from this year may also appear as standalone articles in the main News section.
Legalized casino gambling in Texas requires a constitutional amendment. An amendment must be passed by a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Texas legislature followed by a majority vote of the people. In 2025, the chips appear stacked against a gambling amendment just like in previous years.
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What are the chances Texas passes a casino gaming law? - Courtesy of 12NewsNow, Nov 11, 2024. Available from YouTube
There are three strong reasons why the 2025 legislative session is unlikely to pass a gambling bill:
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Opposes Gambling Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is the primary roadblock to passing gambling legislation. As the presiding officer over the Texas Senate, Patrick has prevented bills from reaching the senate floor for a vote. Patrick says he will allow a vote if there is reasonable support in the senate; however, he does not believe there is real support at this time.
Republican Legislators Oppose Gambling Texas Republican legislators have historically opposed casino gambling and sports betting. This year the republicans increased their majority in the Texas Senate by one more vote. The Republican majority is now 20 to 11 over Democrats.
Texans Have Conservative Values A majority of Texans have traditional values and are hesitant about expanding statewide gambling. Polls show mixed results. A majority of Texan now support a limited number of destination casinos in major cities but oppose online and retail sports betting.
Las Vegas Sands held a casino presentation last week for city officials in the DFW area to explain the economic benefits of legalized gambling and destination resorts in North Texas.
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Casino company pitches North Texas policymakers on legalized gambling - Courtesy of WFAA, Jul 31, 2024. Available from YouTube
The meeting was organized by North Texas Commission and the Texas Association of Business, and key attendees included Mayor Jim Ross of Arlington, Mayor Rick Stopfer of Irving, and Dallas city council member Chad West.
The Las Vegas Sands presentation made these points:
Texas would add $13 billion to its gross domestic product with legalized gambling.
Texas would add 70,000 new permanent jobs and 185,000 construction jobs, according to a study by Professor George Zodrow of Rice University.
Dallas-Fort Worth area would gain $34.7 million in new tax revenue. That amount would come from $5.9 million in sales tax, $28 million in property taxes and $700,000 in non-gambling taxes.
Sands is lobbying groups like the North Texas Commission for support of new gambling legislation to be introduced in the 2025 legislative session. If gambling is legalized, Sands would like to build two casino destination resorts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and five others across the state.
When will Texas legalize gambling? New Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumon advises patience. The timing remains uncertain. Dumont spoke with reporters for the first time since the Mavs were purchased last December for $3.5 billion.
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Fight to legalize casinos expected to be a hot topic for Texas lawmakers in 2025 | NBC DFW - Courtesy of NBC DFW, Jun 3, 2024. Available from YouTube
"If you look at what we do, we're ground-up developers in scale, and we develop tourism assets for both business and leisure tourism. We feel like this is an opportunity that's very good, not only for us, but for the tourism industry as a whole. Now, as part of that, we need casino gaming because of the scale of our investments.
- Patrick Dumon, Dallas Mavericks
Another professional sports team owner, Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, sees similar opportunities for legalized gambling in Texas and is an active supporter of legislative efforts in 2025.
A new Texas poll shows a majority of likely voters would favor legislation to build and operate destination casino resorts in the state. The same poll found less than a majority of likely voters support the legalization of online and retail sports betting.
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Majority of Texas voters support idea of casino resorts in the state, new poll says - Courtesy of KHOU 11, Apr 30, 2024. Available from YouTube
The poll was released this week by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation. Here are the results:
Casino Resorts: The poll found 56% of Texas likely voters support destination resort casinos.
Sports Betting: The poll found that only 47% of Texas likely voters support legalizing online sports betting and 41% support legalizing retail sports betting.
The survey was released April 30, 2024 and can be read at the Hispanic Policy Foundation Back
A casino advocacy group has launched an online petition seeking Texas voters' support for legalization of casino gambling. The group is the Texas Destination Resort Alliance (TDRA), and the petition is found on the Sign the Petition page of its website.
The group wants Texas lawmakers to initiate new legislation to expand gaming and legalize casinos. The petition page reads:
"SHOW YOUR SUPPORT - Show Texas lawmakers that you support the expansion of gaming - and all of its benefits - in Texas.
"By signing the petition, you're joining a broad coalition of Texans calling for a more prosperous, secure future for our state. Will you add your name immediately?"
- Texas Destination Resort Alliance
The TDRA group is backed by the Las Vegas Sands, which recently bought the controlling interest in the Dallas Mavericks and the site of the former Texas Stadium.
This new casino effort comes after two gaming bills died in last year's legislative session.
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