DALLAS — A petition has been filed by a coalition financially backed by the Las Vegas Sands Corp. – the Adelson and Dumont family, who now own the Dallas Mavericks – to legalize casino gambling in Texas, an initiative that has failed to pass in numerous previous legislative sessions.
The Texas Destination Resort Alliance is the group behind the petition and is "paid for by the Las Vegas Sands Corp.," according to their website. The petition states it is "fighting to bring luxury resorts, top-of-the-line entertainment, fine dining, and more to Texans' backyards" by "expanding casino-style gambling" into Texas.
Former Mavericks governor Mark Cuban, who still conducts basketball operations for the team, has said his sale of the Mavericks to the Adelson family is part of a bigger vision for building a new arena and casino resort in the area – a development that he believes would transform the Dallas area into a "top-five travel destination" in the United States. But, while experts see Cuban's sale of the Mavs as part of a renewed effort by the Adelson-owned Las Vegas Sands Corporation and other supporters to legalize gambling in the state, casino gambling remains illegal in Texas.
A Dallas City Council committee held a briefing in January on gambling in Texas in general and bringing casinos into the city specifically. Dallas City Council Member Chad West told Inside Texas Politics the city of Dallas wants if it ever is.
“And if we’re sitting around on our hands once it becomes legalized, it’s a malpractice for us as a city to not put processes in place and plan for welcoming casinos in,” West said. “I guarantee you cities like Irving, Grand Prairie, certainly Arlington, are already looking at what happens in our city if legalization happens at the state level.”
On Jan. 29, a day after our conversation with West aired, Patrick Dumont, who is acting governor of the Dallas Mavericks and President and Chief Operating Officer for Las Vegas Sands Corp., said on the corporation's quarterly investor call that they were "actively trying to facilitate the development of integrated resorts in the State of Texas and through the liberalization of gaming."
"Over time, we hope that it happens. I can’t tell you when it’s going to be, but we’re very focused on it as a company, and we like the opportunity to develop some very unique tourism assets, specifically in Dallas," Dumont added.
According to the American Gaming Association, people spent a record $66.5 billion on commercial gaming in 2023, $6 billion higher than in 2022, WFAA reported in February.
To date, numerous efforts to legalize gambling in Texas have fallen short. State Rep. Charlie Green (R-Fort Worth) authored a bill in the last legislative session to allow casinos in the Lone Star State which failed to make it out of the State House. A separate bill centered around online sports betting did make it out of the Texas House, but did not advance any further.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has, in the past, signaled his opposition to expanding gambling in Texas and has said in recent days the ideas don’t have enough support in the Senate.
In order to change the state constitution and legalize gambling, two-thirds of the Texas House (100 of 150 Representatives) and Texas Senate (21 of 31 Senators) would have to approve legislation. Then, voters would have to approve it on a ballot.
West thinks some level of legalization will not only happen but happen soon.
“I would be shocked if it doesn’t happen this session in some fashion or another,” West argued. “I would guess the state does something. Maybe not full legalization. Maybe just a few licenses here and there to sort of test out the waters like they did with medical marijuana. But I foresee something happening in this next session.”
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