Cowboys Owner: Texas Bets Already Happen, Let’s Regulate

• Monday, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Talked Legal Sports Betting in Texas
• Texas, Other States Currently Losing Potential Gambling Revenue to Outside Sources
• The US is Gradually Legalizing Sports Betting Nationwide

Monday, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Talked Legal Sports Betting in Texas

On Monday, outspoken Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called into Sports Radio 96.7 FM The Ticket and was asked by the hosts whether he thought legal sports betting would find its way to Texas.

Jones, never one to hold back his opinion, told the audience what plenty of other fans of legal sports betting have already come to realize, which is that sports betting is now happening in the state, but all the revenues are flowing elsewhere.

Unregulated and illegal sports gambling is already taking place in the State of Texas. Legalized sports betting would regulate the industry and generate millions of dollars of new revenue for the state which will help fund critical programs without raising taxes.

It’s a common stance that plenty of other state leaders have also arrived at, one that sounds familiar to all the pro-marijuana advocates who have been watching potential pot revenue go to illicit operators instead of to benefit their states.

Texas, Other States Currently Losing Potential Gambling Revenue to Outside Sources

Just because sports betting is not legal in Texas does not mean that Texans don’t gamble on sports, with plenty of Lone Star State bettors finding alternative ways to place wagers on their pro and college sports.

Some offshore sportsbooks are happy to take gambling money from Texans, but as we always warn, those bets always come with the associated risk of dealing with an unlicensed company based in another part of the world, meaning if they refuse to payout, there is not much you can do about it.

Another route that Texas punters will get to take soon is straight east to Louisiana where in November 2020, voters in 56 of the state’s 64 parishes approved a referendum to legalize sports betting, with that operation expected to launch in the early part of 2022.

But what seems certain is that at some point in the future most states will begin to take advantage of this newly discovered legal revenue stream, although for a big state like Texas, the potential gambling money isn’t necessarily all that tempting.

As Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told a radio audience:

Casinos say they’ll generate about $700 million in tax dollars, a lot of money. But it’s equivalent to about three days out of 365 days a year of our total budget.

The US is Gradually Legalizing Sports Betting Nationwide

As of August 2021, these twelve states have legal online sports betting:

• Colorado 
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• West Virginia

Whereas these eight states have retail sports betting only: Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island.

Eight states are launching soon and nine more are in the middle of meaningful discussions on the issue while the rest, including Texas, do not seem too motivated yet to bring legal sports gambling to their territories.

For those bettors wanting to know the current status of legal sports betting in the US, take a look at our consistently updated coverage here: Where Is Online Sports Betting Legal in the USA?