Sports betting legalization might be more detailed in Texas than it remains in California, at least in the eyes of BetMGM and its primary executive officer.
Texas and California stay the 2 great untapped markets for legal online sports wagering sites in the United States, and it appears like neither state is poised for any significant modifications to gambling policy in 2024.
However, for one major sportsbook and online casino operator, BetMGM, the chances of legalization look better for Texas than they do for California.
"California is not in our near-term design, Texas is," BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt stated Wednesday at the NEXT Summit New York 2024 in Manhattan.
I have made it to NEXT Summit New York 2024 in Manhattan. First panel of the day has to do with predictions for 2025. Betr CEO Joey Levy (whose business simply announced a $15M fundraise at a $375M valuation) says the distribution model for operators will need to alter. pic.twitter.com/RUGIbBTRYy
BetMGM became part of the union of operators that attempted and failed to legislate online sports betting in California in 2022, so those scars and lessons are still fairly fresh.
In Texas, nevertheless, the legalization lobby may have acquired another ally with the current multibillion-dollar purchase of a controlling stake in the NBA's Dallas Mavericks by the households behind casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp.
. The Texas legislature will not have another routine session until 2025, which means any sports wagering expenses will have to wait till then, disallowing intervention from the guv. Nevertheless, Greenblatt was asked by CNBC's Contessa Brewer on Wednesday if the Mavericks acquisition would make a difference with legislators.
"The group owners in Texas are extremely prominent, and so the response to that is yes," Greenblatt stated.
A not-so-golden chance
But California stays further off, according to the BetMGM CEO.
"California has actually regrettably taken defeat from the jaws of success too numerous times before," Greenblatt said. "Sharing is hard in California. There are too many incumbent, very strong, prominent groupings."
Firstly among those influential groups are the Native American tribes involved in gambling establishment in California. It was the tribes who led the opposition to online sports wagering in 2022, and it was the tribes who shut down an effort to get another question on the ballot this year.
"Therefore the passage to sports wagering in California is an offer that includes the tribes as partners," Greenblatt said.
Behind the scenes
The remarks made Wednesday recommend legalization of sports wagering in California or Texas remains years away. Even so, the argument is necessary for the market, as legalization in either state would open the biggest state-level market in the U.S. for sportsbook operators, with millions of new customers there to be obtained.
Sports betting legislation likewise made some headway in the Texas legislature in 2015 before eventually falling brief. Furthermore, "interested parties are working behind the scenes to get online sports wagering legislated in 2025," JMP Securities expert Jordan Bender wrote in a March 5 note to customers.
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Sports Betting Legalization Closer in Texas Than California, BetMGM CEO Suggests
kirbygyu997328 edited this page 2026-04-28 10:13:12 +02:00