prediction market platforms<\/a> that operate beyond the reach of Texas law. Those companies don\u2019t answer to Texas regulators, don\u2019t pay Texas taxes and offer little recourse when consumers run into trouble, get scammed or seek information on resources to address problematic behavior.\u00a0<\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, neighboring states are capturing the tax revenue and enacting consumer protections that could just as easily happen at home. Whether you support or oppose sports betting, that\u2019s the reality of the status quo, and it isn\u2019t going away on its own.<\/p>\n
The challenges for Texas are even broader when you consider what\u2019s coming out of Washington. Today, federally regulated prediction markets allow anyone 18 and older with a phone to place a bet under federal agency rules, no matter whether their state permits or bans gambling. These markets operate under federal oversight, not Texas law.<\/p>\n
So, while critics frame this as a simple choice between having sports betting and not having it at all, they\u2019re missing the choice Texans actually face. Betting is already happening every day \u2014 in dorm rooms, break rooms and group chats across the state. A recent study estimates Texans wager $7 billion a year through illegal, offshore channels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The question is whether Texas keeps letting those markets flourish or sets clear rules and protections for adults in Texas who may choose to participate.<\/p>\n
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Reasonable people can disagree about gambling itself. Some will never support sports betting, and that view deserves respect. Others believe adults should be free to decide for themselves, provided real safeguards exist. What shouldn\u2019t be controversial is this: Texas, not offshore operators or federally regulated prediction markets, should be the one setting the rules.<\/p>\n
Critics are right that problem gambling is a serious concern. That\u2019s exactly why regulation matters. States with legal sports betting have built responsible gaming programs featuring self-exclusion lists, deposit limits, age verification, behavioral monitoring, public awareness campaigns and dedicated treatment funding. An unregulated bookie offers none of it.<\/p>\n
So, the real choice isn\u2019t between a world with gambling and one without. It’s between regulated activity with safeguards and unregulated activity with none. That debate shouldn\u2019t hinge on whether someone says \u201cgaming\u201d instead of \u201cgambling\u201d or \u201cwagering\u201d instead of \u201cbetting.\u201d Texans are smart enough to see through slogans from either side.<\/p>\n
The fundamental question is straightforward: Should Texas keep sending billions of dollars to offshore operators, neighboring states and illegal markets \u2014 or let Texans vote on whether to build a legal framework that protects consumers, creates accountability and keeps the economic benefits here at home?<\/p>\n
Reasonable Texans may still reach different conclusions. But they deserve to weigh this on facts, not semantics.<\/p>\n
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Call it sports betting. Call it wagering. Call it gambling. Whatever the label, let\u2019s have an honest conversation about regulation, consumer protection and whether the status quo is truly serving Texas well.<\/p>\n
Joe Maloney is president of the Sports Betting Alliance, which includes the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, a coalition of pro sports teams in the state, racetracks and betting platforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Have thoughts about this? Send a letter to the editor using our letters form<\/a> or email letters@dallasnews.com. Letters should be no more than 200 words and include the first and last name of the writer and city of residence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FanDuel, DraftKings and other online gambling apps are facing tax hikes in other states. Those states are capturing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-368163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}