AUSTIN — The reported sale of Mark Cuban’s majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson, the majority owner of the casino empire Las Vegas Sands, has sparked interest in what the move might mean for efforts to expand gambling in Texas.

Gambling is illegal in the Lone Star State. The state constitution allows for limited exceptions like the state lottery and horse and dog races.

But in recent years, more than 35 states have legalized some form of sports betting. That’s amid the drastic expansion of mobile sports betting across the country following the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling that struck down a federal ban on sports betting.

Texas, however, has not legalized sports betting. Here are five things to know about gambling in the Lone Star State and the broader efforts at its expansion.

Because the state constitution prohibits gambling, any legislation that would allow for Texans to legally place bets would not only have to pass through the Texas Legislature and be signed by the governor — voters would have the final say.

Lawmakers would have to approve legislation calling for a constitutional amendment election. But in order for voters to have the chance to vote on having new forms of gambling in Texas, the resolution would have to pass each chamber by a two-thirds majority.

The legislation calling for a constitutional amendment would not have to be signed by the governor, and he could not veto it.

But the two-thirds threshold can complicate the ability for the resolution to pass through the Capitol.

During the regular session, Fort Worth GOP Rep. Charlie Geren filed a resolution that would have permitted eight resort-style gambling emporiums across the state — with two reserved for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But the legislation failed to get the necessary votes to pass out of the House.

A separate resolution to allow mobile sports betting passed the House but died in the Senate as it did not receive a floor debate.

Republicans control the Legislature, holding majorities in the House, Senate and governorship. While generally Republicans have been opposed to gambling expansions, in recent years other statewide leaders have expressed openness to the idea.

Gov. Greg Abbott told The Houston Chronicle ahead of the 2022 midterm elections he was “open” to having destination resort casinos in Texas. Then in the first few days of the regular session, House speaker Dade Phelan also expressed openness to the resort casinos.

But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, said his chamber would not pass gambling as the legislation would have had more support by Democratic senators than Republicans.

“I’ve said repeatedly there is little to no support for expanding gaming from Senate GOP. I polled members this week. Nothing changed,” Patrick said on social media in May before the regular session ended. “The senate must focus on issues voters expect us to pass. We don’t waste time on bills without overwhelming GOP support.”

Cuban, who will maintain operational control of the Mavericks, previously told The Dallas Morning News that his plans are to partner with the Las Vegas Sands to build a new arena in the middle of a resort and casino.

But that would happen only if gambling was legalized in Texas.

He was the first Texas team owner to announce a desire to partner with a casino for resort-arena hybrid.

Cuban said earlier this month that Texas lacks a marquee attraction for out-of-state tourists.

“When you think of all the places you want to save up [for] vacation, Texas isn’t one of them,” Cuban said Nov. 2 at an entrepreneurs event in Frisco. “There’s no real destination that you save up for. That’s a problem and I think resort gaming would have a huge impact.”

Meanwhile, polls have shown that a majority of Texans support expanding gambling.

In a poll conducted by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston between Jan. 9 and 19, 75% of Texans supported a proposed constitutional amendment by Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, that would have allowed for four upscale destination resort casinos.

And an April poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin found that almost half of Texans supported expanding casino gambling in the state.

In Texas, the Legislature meets every odd-numbered year, according to the state constitution – unless the governor calls lawmakers in for a special 30-day session.

This means that it’s highly unlikely lawmakers would consider gambling legislation before the 2025 session. And the election for a constitutional amendment would likely take place in November 2025.