Texans are calling for legislators to pass into law the legalization of “Texas Gambling.” The Texas Destination Resort Alliance (TDRA) has made a petition to seek the support and signatures of Texas residents in their fight to legalize gambling on sports betting and casino games across Lone Star State. The push, however, is not the first.
Several attempts happened, including last year’s proposal at Austin, but they’ve all been unsuccessful. However, TDRA isn’t giving up yet. Along with the backing from the Las Vegas Sands Corp.—Dallas Maverick owners Adelson and Dumont family—TDRA is initiating another attempt to bring luxury casino-style Texas gambling.
In this casino news, we’ll highlight the importance of legalizing Texas gambling by discussing the reason for this petition.
Texas Gambling Legality and the Petition for Gambling
Texas Destination Resort Alliance (TDRA) recently launched another campaign to seek lawmakers’ approval of legalized live and online casino gaming. The petition proposes to benefit the state. TDRA highlights the opening of new job opportunities, the possibility of a billion-dollar revenue, and funding for essential social projects. In summary, by legalizing Texas gambling, they hope for a more prosperous, secure future for Texans.
The state’s gaming law allows only lottery-styled betting at convenience stores and other establishments. Hence, it is not legal to gamble on casino games while at the residence of Texas. This law hasn’t been convenient for most Texans who wanted to feel the thrills of casino gaming. For Texas gambling status to change from illegal to legal, there need to be at least two-thirds of the votes of the Texas House of Representatives (100/150) and 21/31 votes of the Texas Senate. After that, voters would hold an election to approve it.
In 2023, two legislative proposals ultimately failed in legalizing sports betting and casino-style gambling—House Joint Resolution 155 and House Joint Resolution 97. These proposals would have allowed the establishment of four resort casinos in Texas cities like Austin, Dallas, Houston, and several others. As a follow-up to these failed attempts, TDRA has decided to seek the signatures of like-minded citizens. They are backed by the Las Vegas Sands company, which similarly had in 2022 attempted a $2 million political lobby for the legalization of casino games online gambling.