His core message, he said, is that sports betting should be legalized and regulated to protect consumers and keep an estimated $8 billion-plus a year in illegal bets from Texas out of the hands of “unscrupulous offshore bookies.” Perry, the state’s longest-serving governor and energy secretary in the Trump Administration, said he was recruited by a friend at Austin’s HillCo Partners, the lead lobbying firm for the campaign, and sees his role as one of educating the public and not lobbying lawmakers. On another front, nearly all of Texas’ major sports franchises are united in a first-of-a-kind alliance to legalize and regulate sports betting, joining more than 30 other states that have legalized the practice since the Supreme Court gave its permission in a 2018 decision.īanded together as the Sports Betting Alliance, front-offices for teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars are all joined in a common goal and have engaged a well-known Texas political figure to be the face of the campaign – former Texas Gov. The late Fort Worth entrepreneur Holt Hickman formally proposed a Stockyards casino in the mid-1990s, but casino measures have persistently died in the Legislature.

Craig Goldman of Fort Worth, who chairs the Republican Caucus in the House, while stressing that that he’s not taking a position on the issue. “I’ve heard the chatter around diners and coffee houses in Fort Worth that if a casino was built in Fort Worth, I think everyone agrees that the Stockyards will be a natural good destination for one,” said Rep.

Texas legal gambling