Texas quietly inquiring about legal sports betting

Texas looks like it may bend to the pressure of competition, as the Governor’s office has now started putting out feelers about adopting legal sports betting. The office of Governor Greg Abbott has reportedly been reaching out to states where sports betting is legal to get an idea of how to do it, notes the Legal Sports Report.

Apparently pushed to do so by professional team owners in the state, including Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, and Tilman Fertitta of the Houston Rockets, Abbott’s office may have spoken with New Jersey lobbyists and regulators about how the Lone Star state can get in on the action.

“Something is going to happen in Texas,” said Bill Pascrell III, a lobbyist with the Princeton Public Affairs Group. “It’s complicated because there’s no gaming culture and nothing definitive yet. But the governor is interested and the legislature is interested.”

If Texas is serious about the effort, it’s going to take a lot of work. They would have to change gambling laws, of course, but also adopt a constitutional amendment to get it done.