Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to build new arena inside casino resort

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban plans on building a new arena inside a casino resort in the event Texas’ gambling regulations are expanded.

Cuban discussed the massive project in an interview this week. He announced that as part of his plans for the NBA team, he would partner with Las Vegas Sands (LVS) on the construction of a new arena in Dallas.

Cuban argued that Texas was missing out on a huge opportunity by not investing in casino resorts. According to Cuban, the legalization of casino resorts would bring billions of dollars to the state.

Texas faces complex gambling issue

More than a dozen major sports teams are based in Texas, comprising the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS teams. Casino gambling has already been publicly backed by all major sports teams in the state. With the aim of legalizing sports betting, they formed the Sports Betting Alliance in 2021. Cuban is the first owner of a major sports team to publicly talk about partnering with a casino company.

Gambling laws in Texas have long been very conservative. State lotteries, horse and greyhound racing, as well as some tribal casinos, are the only forms of legal gambling.

There has been stiff resistance to lawmakers’ attempts to expand gambling laws in recent years. In opposition to gambling expansion, lawmakers and Christian conservatives cite moral grounds for opposing it, believing it will have unsavory social consequences.

Senate Joint Resolution 17 was introduced recently by Senator Carol Alvarado, who isn’t giving up on the issue. A legislative session is scheduled to begin in January to consider the bill. An amendment to the constitution is proposed to allow voters to decide whether betting should be legalized. In addition, up to four destination casinos would be allowed in major Texas cities under the amendment.

“Hopefully he’ll use his clout and resources to help get us across the finish line,” Senator Alvarado said Thursday.

She referred to Cuban as a businessman with a keen sense of the state’s gambling potential.