Ever since PASPA was repealed in 2018, industry interests have salivated over the prospect of Texas legalizing sports wagering. However, staunch opponents, ranging from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to a powerful religious lobby, have made any attempts to usher gambling into the Lone Star State DOA on the Capitol steps.
Houston-based furniture store magnate Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is as religious as they come, holding numerous charitable fundraisers and quoting Scripture liberally on his Twitter feed. But he is no opponent of gambling. In fact, he has become, in his words, “one of the biggest sports gamblers in the world,” routinely jetting out of state to place million-dollar wagers on major sporting events like the World Series and Super Bowl – while hedging those wagers through a series of can't-lose (for him, anyway) furniture promotions.
In 2021, McIngvale penned an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle in which he argued that sports betting should be legal in Texas because, among other things, he would “much rather have the tax revenue from my bets directly benefit the people of Texas.” In the two years between the 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions, the landscape in Texas has changed to the point where there are now multiple credible efforts to legalize sports wagering in the state, backed by a broad array of commercial and political interests.
In Tuesday's Chronicle, columnist Brian T. Smith argued that Texans should have the right to vote on whether they want sports betting to be legalized. They would be given that chance should a constitutional amendment pass through the legislature.