Chris Boline
For the supporters of Texas sports betting, having to wait for things to potentially be made legal down the road continues to be frustrating. While several politicians have spoken out in support of making things legal, including Beto O’Rourke, things are at a stand still right now. To make things even worse for those who want to see things come to fruition, illegal Texas bets are on the rise with football season here.
According to a report, the number of unregulated wagers has indeed spiked, which unfortunately was expected. With people wanting to check the NFL betting odds, plus the NCAAF odds due to the high interest in the Texas Longhorns, you just had a feeling that people would find a way to make something go down in terms of betting. The Texas Sports Betting Alliance knows all about this, which is why they released a statement as a follow up.
“The state should allow Texans the freedom to decide whether or not to participate in sports betting and protect those who do so,” Spokesperson Cara Gustafson said in a press release earlier this month. “Football will continue to dominate the Lone Star State and sports betting will only grow along with it. It’s time to honor Texas’ core value of individual freedom and legalize sports betting.”
As you can see, Gustafason, on behalf of the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, is quite passionate about things being given the green light soon. When exactly will that happen? No one knows, as there’s small hope that potentially we can get some good news sooner than later. However, until something does change, more illegal bets, particularly for football contests, will keep going down. This is something the TSBA understands and they’re tired of it.
Football bets poured in for the Cowboys-Giants Monday Night Football game
In a surprise to no one, football bets poured in for the Cowboys-Giants Monday Night Football game in Week 3 of the NFL campaign. With this showdown in primetime, millions of people across the world tuned into this one. With that, plenty of people in Texas also made illegal bets on this one. That’s always going to be the case when the Cowboys are in action during Monday Night Football.
Despite Dak Prescott being out with his hand injury, Cooper Rush led Dallas to a surprising win over the Giants at MetLife Stadium. The Giants were favorites for this one, which only made things that much more interesting for Dallas fans who placed their bets. CeeDee Lamb recorded one of the best touchdowns catches of the season, which paved the way for the Cowboys to pull off their road win.
People who bet on the Cowboys made a handsome amount of dough, as the NFL betting odds indeed had the Giants on top. With Rush playing well, and the defense also looking strong, there’s plenty of hope for this team, especially with Prescott expected back in the near future. With this, Dallas has seen its Super Bowl betting odds go up a bit as well, which obviously is good news for Jerry Jones.
The bad news here, however, is that this is only going to lead to more illegal bets to be placed on the Cowboys for Super Bowl futures bets. We’ve seen countless sports betting rings shut down in the area, and that’s only going to continue in the coming months. Authorities have been targeting these rings and working with officials to limit this as much as possible. Again, though, they’ll always be out there until the laws are changed.
Big time Rush.@rush_cooper | @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/UiSJaWbJoC
— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2022
Texas continues to face strong opposition for sports betting
What really has people angry about betting is that Texas continues to face strong opposition for sports betting. Time and time again, you’ll see a big name come out and say that there’s no room for legal wagers in the state. This makes no sense, especially with pro team owners speaking in favor of it. Jones has made his voice heard several times: the Dallas owner wants sports betting and he wants it bad.
“Gaming, as it pertains to our game, is here. It’s frankly been here. But you’re talking about a different form of it, a more recognized form of it, a more sanctioned form of it. Yes I do. Without in any way not being sensitive to the great people that want to keep everything in the right way, but the handwriting is on the wall (on betting). Gaming has been here for a long time,” Jones said in a recent interview discussing betting.
With Jones on board, it feels like only a matter of time before sports betting is made legal. With the USA being co-hosts for the World Cup in 2026, people are begging Texas to get things in line by then. Imagine if AT&T Stadium hosts major games and people have the ability to place some bets? That’s only going to make the World Cup that much better. We can only hope Texas gets things in order by then.
Legalized Texas Sports Betting: Jerry Jones Says It’s When Not If https://t.co/VLZO6dMDeX
— Amy Dash (@AmyDashTV) August 16, 2021
