Texas has about 20 million adult residents, many of which are drawn into neighboring states to play gamble. This is why casino companies from nearby areas are afraid, now that the state is starting to hand out licenses to racetrack owners and Native American operators.
“You stop that drive and you have essentially the same thing that happened to Atlantic City,” said Ken Adams, a gaming consultant based in Reno, Nevada. Adams was talking about the devastating losses that Atlantic City experienced when the ban on casino gaming was lifted in the state of Pennsylvania.
Eleven casinos that are on a national level are all currently drawing customers from Texas. This doesn’t include the small operators, including Native Americans and racetrack operators.
The U.S. has had a series of reforms not only regarding gambling on land but online as well. Betting exchange company Betfair, which operates a highly-successful slew of virtual table games in the UK market, says that the petition for the passage of federal legislation to license and regulate online gaming sites in the U.S. had been in place since the infamous Black Friday happened. Today, only a few states have reinstated online betting sites on U.S. shore, all of which are strictly being monitored by regulating bodies.
Even casino gaming heavyweight Nevada, home of Sin City, fears losing a lot of revenue since the state’s establishments have long profited from Texans. Every December, the National Finals Rodeo is held in Las Vegas but this may change when if casinos open in Texas.
Currently, two Indian operators have been granted a license to offer slot gaming within Texas. Previously, the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe and the Tigua Tribes have been forced to close their gaming facilities when the state imposed a ban on such establishments. This month, however, the tribes regained their rights to operate as affirmed by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). Both tribes also gained jurisdiction over their lands, as reported by NIGC chair Jonodev Chaudhuri.
This article was contributed to by Ashley Daniels. Ashley spends most of her days writing and contributing articles to major news sites. She’s an expert in current events, U.S. politics, fashion, and technology. In her free time, she helps her husband run their small bakery business in Lakeside City, Texas.