Gambling industry again pushing Texas Legislature to approve casinos, online sports betting

The gambling industry is once again rolling the dice on a plan to legalize casinos and sports betting in the Lone Star State, the Texas Tribune reports. Despite defeats in the past two sessions of the Texas Legislature, the Las Vegas Sands casino empire has signed up what the news site called a "murderers’ row of high-powered lobbyists" to convince the Republican-controlled body to allow so-called "destination resort casinos" in big cities. Additionally, the Texas Sports Betting Alliance — a group that includes sports teams, racetracks and betting platforms such as DraftKings and FanDuel — is pressing lawmakers for loosened restrictions, according to the Tribune.