The Texas legislature may not be meeting this year but that is not stopping other pieces from potentially falling in place to bring casino gaming and sports betting to the Lone Star State.
A recent SEC filing has the gambling and sports industry buzzing. The Adelson family, including the wife of late Las Vegas Sands CEO and Chairman Sheldon Adelson, is selling nearly $2 billion in Las Vegas Sands stock. Per the filing, the sale is intended, “to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise pursuant to a binding purchase agreement, subject to customary league approvals.”
While the filing did not specify which team Miriam Adelson is interested in, the rumor mill is connecting the sale to the NBA franchise Dallas Mavericks. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has spoken before about wanting to bring a resort-style casino to Texas and has worked with groups to champion bringing sports betting to the state as well.
NBA reporter Shams Charania posted on Twitter last night that Cuban and the Adelsons are readying a $3.5 billion sale of the team. While the Adelsons would hold a majority stake in the company, Cuban would still oversee and control basketball operations for the team.
Since Texas is a state that currently does not offer casinos, sports betting bills have suggested bringing sports betting to the state via partnerships. Las Vegas Sands is not currently a player in the US sports betting space, so the focus for the company is likely more on bringing casino gaming to the state.
A bill to bring a voter referendum on casinos and sports betting to the state advanced out of the House this year before dying in the Senate. As mentioned, the Texas legislature only meets in odd-numbered years, so there will be no progress on any gaming front in 2024.
