Texas rules out online gambling?

Online gambling could soon be making its way into the homes of many, avid gamers across Texas. However, the state still has a long way to go before it is whole heartedly welcomed. Long gone are the days when gambling hid in the shadows of alleys and underground locations. Moving forward with the times of legislation, the activity is now dazzling the bright lights of many casinos’.

“Gambling is going to undergo a fundamental change as large as when it moved from alleys, backrooms and secret underground locations to legal storefront casinos,” said Ken Adams, a consultant with Las Vegas-based CDC Consulting. “Gambling has moved out of the shadows and into the bright lights.

“Now it is poised to migrate once again, this time from the multimillion- and sometimes billion-dollar casinos … to the apartments, offices and single-family houses of the nation.”

Opposition towards online gambling still stands strong, so it may be a while before the state leads the way. The main argument for opposing gambling…it has the potential to financially ruin those who cannot afford it.

Even some supporters of building traditional Las Vegas-style casinos in Texas say online gambling may not be the way to go. They argue that allowing casinos to open in the state would give a far bigger boost to jobs and the economy. “The bottom line is — however the Justice Department treats online gambling — Texans are already voting with their feet and wallets,” said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston.

“Texans spend billions of dollars every year … driving to Oklahoma, Louisiana or Las Vegas. They spend money at Native American casinos here in Texas and spend millions on state-sanctioned lottery tickets. “I do not think the right approach for Texas from a revenue-generating standpoint is to have these small, piecemeal changes.”

He added that in order to spur economic growth, it may be viable to stick to a limited amount of gaming retreats. “The way for Texas to actually spur economic development and generate billions in revenue is to allow for a limited number of destination casinos,” Ellis said.