Residents in Texas have a thirst for sports betting in a state that has yet to offer legal sports betting.
According to figures from the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, 1.14 million attempts were made to place a wager from inside the Lone Star State from Sept. 1 through Oct. 23. All attempts were blocked, but the number of tries was up 68.5% compared to the same period in 2022.
This surge, tracked by Geocomply Solutions, coincided with MLB’s American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros, sparking more than 20,000 attempts during the final three games of the series.
There were 8,100 attempts made during Game 6 between the Rangers and Astros followed by nearly another 8,000 for Game 7.
The Rangers went on to win the in-state battle, and they play the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
Still a no-go
With all four major sports - baseball, football, hockey, and basketball - coinciding, data shows interest is up, but the Texas legislature is still far from bringing online sports betting to the people.
“It’s simple - the data shows that Texans want the freedom to place bets on their favorite teams safely and legally,” Texas Sports Betting Alliance spokesperson Cara Gustafson said. “Texas is one of only 12 states that have not legalized sports betting in some form. As the demand for a legal market in Texas continues to grow, we look forward to partnering with fans, teams, and the betting platforms to continue conversations with the Legislature to pass sports betting in 2025.”
The Texas Sports Betting Alliance is made up of the Astros, Rangers, Austin FC, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo FC, Houston Dash, Houston Rockets, Houston Texans, San Antonio Spurs, Texas Motor Speedway, PGA TOUR, Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, and FanDuel.
Tough road ahead
The alliance's push to make sports betting legal in the Lone Star State hasn’t hit home with lawmakers yet.
HJR 102 became the first piece of legal gambling legislation to make it through the Texas House early this year. HB 1942 took a run at advancing as well but came up short.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said in May that there wasn’t enough support in the Senate to consider a gambling-related bill and that it wouldn’t even make it to a vote, thus killing any legal sports betting momentum for at least another 14 months.
As the desire and data to bet on sports continue to pile up, the biennial legislature won’t bring new bills to light until at least January 2025.
