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This should never be a surprise when it comes to Texas sports betting news. For a while now, illegal activity has been through the roof due to the state being way behind in trying to get things legalized. With sports betting not an option for 2024, people are furious that they have to wait until 2025 at the earliest to see if the laws get changed. Having said that, this isn’t stopping folks from putting money down on their favorite teams, as illegal MLB betting is up and running for Texas in 2024.
The season just started a few weeks ago. According to a report, officials have seen a high number of illegal activities posted in the state. With the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers in action, it’s not a stunner at all that people are racing to get their bets in. Folks are checking the MLB betting odds and seeing how things are going to potentially shape out for the Texas teams this season.
Bombi's blast made the difference. #StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/3QzZYF8SSB
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) April 22, 2024
Keep in mind that the Rangers won it all last year, making history. Throughout last season, a ton of illegal wagers were placed on them and the Astros. Baseball fans were optimistic that legal sports betting would arrive in 2023, but the state dropped the ball there. With legislation not meeting this year, that means the earliest things can be put on the ballot would be November 2025. It’s still up in the air if the needed steps will be taken by then or not.
Texas is one of the biggest states in the USA. The fact that Texas and California are without legal wagers is something that a lot of experts can’t believe. However, this has been an issue for far too long and too many politicians are getting in the way of things getting done. The longer Texas waits, the more illegal activity will be posted. This would also cut into potential sports betting revenue for the state, which is something that needs to be considered.
NFL Draft betting is going to be a problem for Texas this week
In addition to the Major League Baseball issues, there’s no question that NFL Draft betting is going to be a problem for Texas this week. Why? Because the Dallas Cowboys own the No. 24 overall pick in the NFL Draft and the first round is going to arrive on Thursday night. According to the best-rated sportsbooks, the expectation is that the Dallas Cowboys could draft an offensive tackle in Round 1 – that’s the position with the highest NFL betting odds.
It has been a long offseason already for Jerry Jones, as star running back Tony Pollard signed elsewhere during free agency and this team doesn’t have a stud replacement in town for him. There’s some belief that the Cowboys could bring in a new running back either during the second or third round, but things are quite unknown there. Regardless, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the front office to improve this team on both sides of the ball.
What's up, Sam ☝️ pic.twitter.com/6In9LQekEb
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) April 18, 2024
This past season, the Cowboys had strong Super Bowl betting odds, but they suffered a stunning loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round. After that loss, there’s been speculation that Dak Prescott may be playing his final season with the team, as he’s out of contract following the 2024 season. Mike McCarthy is also in the last year of his deal, which has a lot of people nervous.
Despite all of that, the Cowboys are one of the most popular teams in the world and people always follow their action closely in Texas. This leads to a lot of illegal NFL bets throughout the year, with the draft of course being a main attraction for bettors. Authorities will be working overtime trying to prevent illegal activity from going down, but that’s something that is surely much easier said than done. We’ll see how things go down here.
Will Texas sports betting be present on the 2025 ballot?
As things stand, a big question people have on their minds is will Texas sports betting be present on the 2025 ballot? It’s unknown if this will be the case or not, but some politicians are trying to make it happen. As a lot of you know by now, a Texas sports betting bill has been pre-filed for next year. Things haven’t quite been updated in a little while, but a lot of people have hope that they’ll be able to vote on things next fall.
We won’t know until later this year, or potentially early next year, if positive steps will be taken. The fact that people are working on this bill so early has to be a good sign of things to come, though. Texas sports owners, including Mark Cuban and Jones, are hoping to see something get done sooner rather than later. It will be interesting to see if 2025 will finally be the year when legal sports betting arrives. From our chair, there’s a good chance that history indeed can be made.
