The sports betting industry in the United States does continue to grow, but there are still some states that can’t seem to get involved. That has been the case for both Missouri and Texas, but lawmakers in those states were looking to change that this year.
Despite the hard work from some lawmakers, there just wasn’t enough support in either state to really get anything off the ground. Bills were passed through the House in each state, but it was the Senate that made sure sports betting wasn’t available.
Kentucky is a state that was able to get to the finish line earlier this year, and that state is starting to move forward with sports betting plans. You can expect Missouri and Texas to try again in the future, but there won’t be any legal sports betting coming anytime soon.
Missouri Is A Mess
This is now the fifth straight year in which Missouri lawmakers have attempted to legalize sports betting, but those efforts have always fallen short. This was a year in which it did seem as if some real progress was being made, but there was one senator that decided to shut it all down.
Senator Denny Hoskins has pushed for legal sports betting for years, but he’s also been trying to get video lottery terminals legalized. He has maintained that these two industries be tied together, but he seems to be one of the only lawmakers that believe that.
Professional sports teams in Missouri are not happy with another failed attempt, and they could be looking to take a different direction to make this happen. Some of these teams are convinced that they can get enough signatures from voters to get a referendum placed on the ballot.
Texas Still Ways Away
Lawmakers in Texas were not close to getting something done besides a bill passing through the House and heading to the Senate. With another failed attempt in Texas, sports betting isn’t coming until 2025 at the earliest.
The House of Representatives in Texas were quick to pass a sports betting bill, and that chamber of the state legislature is also looking to legalize casino gambling. Members of the Senate have not been interested in even discussing sports betting, and they shut down the bill this year.
Texas is another state in which the professional sports teams are getting fed up with the lawmakers not getting a deal signed. This is a state that could be a massive sports betting market, but nothing appears to be imminent.
Caesars Being Aggressive
Caesars Entertainment is one of the biggest names in the sports betting industry, and the company is actually looking for even more success. Caesars Sportsbook is the first to announce that it has received an online sports betting license in the state of Kentucky.
It is no surprise that Caesars wanted to offer sports betting in Kentucky as the company already has a horse race betting app available. Not only was Caesars the first to get a license in Kentucky, but the same thing happened in the state of Maine.
Kentucky is a state that could eventually have 27 online sports betting operators go live, but a much smaller number is expected. One interesting rule when it comes to Kentucky sports betting is that the legal betting age is just 18, and it’s typically 21 in other states throughout the country.
