Setbacks in sports betting legalization: Delays in California, Texas, Florida

None of the biggest three states appears particularly close to legalizing sports betting

The dreams of many gaming industry leaders around the globe for achieving remarkable riches from legalization of sports betting in the U.S. have been greatly diminished by disappointments regarding the three largest of the 50 states.

Florida, No. 3 in population size, features legal, regulated sports betting. But unless ongoing legal battles change the scenario – only the Seminole Tribe and its partner Hard Rock currently can offer it. California and Texas, meanwhile, have massive amounts of illegal wagering by residents, but no legal versions at all.

So it’s no wonder that all three states were on the minds of several panelists at last week’s Global Gaming Expo (better known as “G2E”) in Las Vegas.

James Siva, the chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, participated in a panel called “Tribal Sovereignty and Sports Betting: A Delicate Balance.”

Siva told the audience not to expect immediate results in his state. Instead, he said the timing of a required sports betting referendum would be “maybe 2026, but probably 2028.”

Still, supporters of expanded legal gambling in the U.S. had to be intrigued to hear Siva suggest that online casino gaming may well be part of the next referendum.

“What is the promise of iGaming?” Siva said. “We’re already looking down the road.” 

Just two years ago, a pair of competing sports betting legalization ballot questions in California each failed by almost 4-to-1 similarly overwhelming margins. One would have given the more than 100 tribes in California exclusivity on sports betting, while the other would have allowed commercial operators such as card rooms a place at the table as well.

While 38 states already have legalized sports betting, all but Nevada having only done so only after a historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that erased a 26-year-old federal law that opened the door for all states, only eight of those states also offer regulated online casino gaming. The addition of California to that list, no matter how long it takes, likely would accelerate acceptance of that form of gambling across the country.

Texas finally on the road to sports betting?

Another panel at G2E addressed the status of legal sports betting in Texas.

Las Vegas Sands executive Andy Abboud was the most optimistic speaker on the topic, saying that Texas joining the sports wagering segment is ‘inevitable.”

More importantly, Abboud said that 2025 would surely be a year of “great progress” toward sports betting in the Texas legislature, with a “greater than 50 percent” chance of passage of a constitutional amendment and then ratification via a voter referendum by the end of that year.

But MGM Resorts counterpart Rick Limardo tamped down that enthusiasm a bit, reminding the audience that the state Senate in Texas twice in 2023 killed bills that would have allowed for such betting. Limardo added that it still is not at all clear that the Senate has had any change of heart. 

“We have to show this is viable in the senate and get the votes there,” he said.

FanDuel‘s Cesar Fernandez pointed out that polls have shown that a majority of Texas residents now support sports betting legalization, perhaps prompted by the knowledge that their fellow Texans are wagering millions of dollars in neighboring Oklahoma and Louisiana.

“Voters see that money leaving the state, and they’d like to see that return,” Abboud said. 

Limardo said that creating a coalition of the state’s numerous professional sports teams — including the iconic NFL franchise the Dallas Cowboys — as well as the state’s horse racing tracks could increase the likelihood of getting to a majority level of support in the Texas Senate.

Finally, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick runs the Texas Senate, and he is adamantly opposed to sports betting legalization. But Abboud predicted that if supporters gain enough votes, Patrick would be willing to allow the bill to come to a formal vote in that chamber. Patrick also is an ardent supporter of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, and he conceivably could leave his current post for a job in the new administration should Trump defeat Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November.

Florida tribe may embrace new sports betting partners – for a price

Hard Rock International Chairman and Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen also made news at the Las Vegas gaming industry event.

In a one-on-one chat with CNBC’s Contessa Brewer, Allen told that audience that he had spoken this week with leading executives at both FanDuel and DraftKings, the two daily fantasy sports giants that also have come to dominate the U.S. sports betting market.

“I would say whether it’s FanDuel or whether it’s DraftKings, we’ve actually developed a great relationship with them,” Allen told attendees. “We do recognize that long term, some type of strategic relationship with some of the brands that really have marquee value could be helpful to both of us, and we are receptive to those conversations.”

The Seminole Tribe launched sports betting in late 2023 after a court ruling that allowed the tribe exclusive rights to offer sports betting at its Florida casinos as well as on its mobile sports betting app.

Because the tribe holds “all the cards,” it need not take on any partner in sports betting. But the databases of FanDuel and DraftKings each are so enormous that the tribe and either or both of those operators would profit greatly from a partnership.

The challenge for the Seminoles is whether it would be more profitable to add only one partner at a high share of the new revenue or two or more partners, taking less of a percentage from each due to a lack of exclusivity, yet still potentially producing an aggregate net revenue gain.

With California and Texas still possibly years away from legalizing sports wagering, and with that onerous tax rate in New York, major operators likely will be sorely tempted to accept any deal in Florida that turns over less than half its sportsbook revenue to the Seminole tribe.