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A coalition was made in North Texas by representatives of the community and the business industry for the purpose of exploring legalizing gambling in the state. They are called the North Texas Commission: their job is to study the consequences of destination gambling and explore and make suggestions for economic development, infrastructure, and transportation requirements, public safety implications – as well as workforce needs. 

Their research is to be finished by 2025 before a legislative session when law representatives are expected to reconsider the issue of legalizing gambling in Texas.

The matter of legalizing gambling has been active in almost all US states. While most of them did legalize gambling, at least partly, some states remain gamble-free to this day. 

For instance, Hawaii, Yuta, Texas, and several others have not yet legalized gambling activities. Many countries went even further and legalized online gambling. It has become so popular that some of the best online casinos in USA are very new and ever-changing because new and better ones keep opening. 

The situation in Texas is quite closed off when it comes to gambling. The only gambling activities permitted include horse and greyhound racing, and these are very rigidly regulated by law.

Joe Addabbo, New York state senator, played an important role in the legalization of gambling in the state of New York in 2021. His team conducted a survey of 523 partakers. Aside from other important issues, one of the biggest ones was the legislation of online gaming. Since Addabbo was essential to the legalization of online gambling in New York in 2021, it has become their mission to push other states to consider legalizing online gambling, too. 

The Texas Committee will be launched in the fall, and, in the meantime, NTC Chief Operating Officer Patrick Brophey invited prominent members of the community and economic and business industry to join the group that will start their work in a few months. 

Brophey states that the more variety among team members exists, the better the results would be. Social services, arts, business, economy, entertainment, as well as mental health experts are all more than welcome to apply. 

He also claims that the outcome of the survey should be an objective analysis of the issue and not necessarily one that roots legalizing online gambling. The goal is to hear the opinions of experts, whether they support the idea or not. 

However, each opinion and attitude needs factual arguments. After the analysis is concluded, the reader should be able to have a clear image of what the legislation of online gambling would constitute for the state of Texas. Brophey announced this call for experts on July 24th.

Whether the motion passes next year or not, one thing is certain – it is going to be very exciting. Naturally, there are both pros and cons to the motion being accepted. When it comes to the benefits, the state could earn a lot of money from tax revenue which they could put into schools or healthcare. Also, online gaming providers would pay a certain license fee which would add up to that budget. The arrival of casinos, both brick-and-mortar and online would also entail hiring a lot of staff. Administrative, financial, and law-practicing workers would have new jobs, as well as IT and marketing professionals. Not to mention the fact that the start of so many new businesses would also draw investors and tourists which would significantly impact the state’s economic growth. 

Of course, there are possible downsides, too. Since it would be a very new and unregulated industry, the legalization of casinos would require making some strong and effective laws and regulations. Failure to do so would risk potential fraud and money laundering which is definitely something to be avoided.