Dallas Mavericks Governor Patrick Dumont Is Being ‘Patient' In Fight To Bring Casinos To Texas

Patrick Dumont is the governor of the Dallas Mavericks. The team's new ownership group is not worried about the current state of gambling laws in Texas. Dumont noted that he is trying to help push legalized gambling in the Lone Star State. Last Friday, Dumont spoke with reporters for the first time since the $3.5 billion purchase of the Mavs in December 2023. According to Dumont, the two families that bought the team are willing to be “patient”. They will wait for gambling to become legalized so they can reap the rewards. Additionally, Dumont noted that the ownership group never thought about casino gaming when they made the purchase. Part of the reason why they are willing to be patient and wait.

What is the current state of gambling in Texas?

According to state legislators, gambling is a low-priority issue in Texas. Largely because it’s faced significant hurdles, including not having strong support from the public. In Texas, their legislature meets every two years. The state’s most recent legislative session was in 2023 where Texas saw little progress in legalizing gambling. Patrick Dumont had this to say regarding how legalizing gambling would benefit the entire industry.

“If you look at what we do, we're ground-up developers in scale, and we develop tourism assets for both business and leisure tourism,” said Dumont. “We feel like this is an opportunity that’s very good, not only for us, but for the tourism industry as a whole. Now, as part of that, we need casino gaming because of the scale of our investments.”

On December 27, 2023, the Dallas Mavericks were officially sold to Miriam Adelson, along with Sivan and Patrick Dumont. The Mavericks are not the only professional sports team in Dallas that wants to see gambling legalized. Long-time Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been one of the strongest supporters of gambling legalization in Texas. Despite effort being shown, gambling being legalized in Texas is still a ways away.