‘Mattress Mack’—Known For Winning $75 Million On World Series Wager—Opposes Bill Legalizing Online Sports Gambling In Texas

Topline

Houston furniture magnate Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale spoke out against Texas legislation that would legalize mobile sports gambling, despite his history of placing massive multi-million-dollar sports bets as a promotion for his stores—giving state lawmakers a surprising opponent as the nationwide debate over sports betting heats up.

Texas furniture magnate Jim McIngvale, better known as “Mattress Mack” came down on a state bill to … [+] legalize online sports betting, despite his history of major sports bets.

Getty Images

Key Facts

McIngvale, the owner of the Houston-based Galley Furniture chain, told the Houston Chronicle legalizing betting by phone would bolster gambling addiction, arguing his two-hour drives to neighboring Louisiana to place bets “limits [his] impulses by a factor of 1,000.”

McIngvale, who won $75 million last fall by betting on the Houston Astros to win the World Series—the biggest payout in sports betting history—urged lawmakers not to support the Republican-led bill, which was introduced on Monday and would also require support from voters in a November ballot referendum, telling Gallery Sports he’s “1,000% against it.”

Legalized sports betting, however, has been the subject of debate for several years, with three-quarters of voters in a University of Houston poll conducted last month saying they would support an increase in legal sports gambling, while Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) opposes the bill—which would strictly legalize online sports gambling primarily through betting sites like DraftKings and FanDuel rather than in-person sports betting.

Contra

McIngvale, who describes himself as “one of the biggest sports gamblers in the world,” now stands in direct opposition to the Texas Sports Betting Alliance—one of the lead proponents of the bill, whose partners include every major sports team in Texas as well as sports betting companies such as DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM. Proponents argue the bill would boost state tax revenue and add “security and safety” to sports betting, according to state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R). The bill is the second introduced in Texas in the past two years, including a 2021 bill sponsored by Democratic lawmakers that died in the state legislature. It comes after the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to strike down a 1992 law that had prohibited states from legalizing sports betting, leading many states to legalize the practice in recent years.

Key Background

McIngvale describes himself as “one of the biggest sports gamblers in the world,” but wagering on sports is serious business for him. McIngvale uses his bets as a promotional tool ahead of major Houston games, typically placing a massive wager on Houston to win and promising to refund furniture purchases if they win. If the game goes his way, his gambling winnings help pay for his customers’ refunds, but if his team loses, he still profits from a pre-game boost in sales. Last fall, customers who purchased at least $3,000 in furniture got their money back after the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

Chief Critic

Opponents of the bill argue it would give free rein to a handful of online gambling companies while enabling gambling addiction. In Massachusetts, where in-person sports gambling took effect last week—giving football fans and gamblers enough times to make wagers on Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles—opponents to the new law argue sports betting companies could target specific people, including college athletes and young people without experience gambling, as well as people who experience gambling addictions. Nationwide, calls to a gambling addiction hotline spiked by 43% last year, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling, the New York Times reported.

Big Number

24. That’s how many states, plus Washington D.C., have legal mobile sports betting, according to the American Gaming Association. Thirty-one states allow gamblers to place sports bets in-person. Texas is one of seven states, along with Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina, with bills or ballot initiatives to legalize sports betting.