Rick Perry and Jerry Jones Lend Rare Republican Support to Legal Sports Betting in Texas

[douglas9]

A surprising voice has entered the debate surrounding legal sports gambling in Texas. Former Gov. Rick Perry released a video on behalf of the Sports Betting Alliance in which he lists what he says are the benefits of mobile sports gambling.

“Texas is built on the core principle of individual freedom,” says Perry, who served as governor 2000–2015. “And we pride ourselves on being an economic powerhouse in the nation. Legalizing mobile sports betting will finally allow the state to protect consumers from illegal offshore betting sites while keeping the money generated from betting in Texas to benefit Texans.”

Following the 2018 decision by the Supreme Court to lift the federal ban on sports betting, Fantasy Football platforms such as DraftKings have led the way, along with some notable casinos, in turning mobile sports betting into a commercial force. In the video Perry picked at the low-hanging fruit that is how sports betting is now legal in a majority of states in some form.



https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/rick-perry-and-jerry-jones-lend-rare-republican-voices-to-legal-sports-betting-in-texas-15336080

[Alexander Of Assyria]

1. These charlatans want to make even more money and have more power. Perry who??

It’s never enough for demons to have it all.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. When have Republicans not been in favor of gambling?

Mr. "The Book of Virtues" saw no problem with it.

William Bennett

{snip}

William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W. Bush.

{snip}

Controversies

Gambling

In 2003, it became publicly known that Bennett - who had spent years preaching about family values and personal responsibility - was a high-stakes gambler who lost millions of dollars in Las Vegas. Criticism increased in the wake of Bennett's publication, The Book of Virtues, a compilation of moral stories about courage, responsibility, friendship and other examples of virtue. Joshua Green of the Washington Monthly said that Bennett failed to denounce gambling because of his own tendency to gamble. Also, Bennett and Empower America, the organization he co-founded and headed at the time, opposed an extension of casino gambling in the United States.

Bennett said that his habit had not put himself or his family in any financial jeopardy. After Bennett's gambling problem became public, he said he did not believe his habit set a good example, that he had "done too much gambling" over the years, and his "gambling days are over". "We are financially solvent," his wife Elayne told USA Today. "All our bills are paid." She added that his gambling days are over. "He's never going again," she said.

Several months later, Bennett qualified his position, saying "So, in this case, the excessive gambling is over." He explained "Since there will be people doing the micrometer on me, I just want to be clear: I do want to be able to bet the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl."

{snip}

Frank Fahrenkopf was fine with it. Just make sure you call it "gaming," not "gambling."

Frank Fahrenkopf

{snip}

Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. (born August 28, 1939) is an American attorney, political executive, and lobbyist who was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1983 to 1989. Fahrenkopf is co-founder, and currently co-chairman, of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which conducts the United States general election presidential and vice presidential debates. In the private sector, Fahrenkopf most recently served as the American Gaming Association's first president, and retired from the position in 2013.

{snip}

[tanyev]

3. "Family values" when it suits them and "individual freedoms" when it suits them.

[Paladin]

4. As if I needed more reasons to avoid gambling.

If Rick & Jerry were screaming at me to dodge an out-of-control train, I wouldn't move a muscle. Two stand-out assholes, in a state crammed full of assholes.