Inside the span of around 24 hours, gambling expansion in Texas went from having little hope to having zero hope.
After efforts to bring resort casinos to Texas died in the Texas House on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick declared on Sunday that the Texas Senate won’t “waste time” on gambling.
The House on Thursday passed House Joint Resolution 102, which would legalize online gambling in Texas through a constitutional amendment, and the enabling legislation, House Bill 1942. However, that appears to be the last bit of good news for gambling expansion proponents, and eyes now turn to 2025.
Climb was initially always large for The state of texas sports betting
Patrick, who presides over the Texas Senate as lieutenant governor, has consistently warned that gambling expansion faced hurdles in the upper chamber. He has said he will not bring any bill in the Senate that does not have predominantly Republican support. He reiterated this on Saturday via Twitter.
“I’ve said over and over there is very little support for expanding gaming from Senate GOP,” Patrick tweeted. “I polled members this week. Nothing changed. The [Senate] must focus on issues voters expect us to. We don’t waste time on bills without hard GOP support. HB1942 won’t be referred.”
Patrick doubled down on Saturday with a follow-up tweet:
“Texas is a red state. Yet the House vote on sports betting was carried by a [Democratic] majority,” Patrick tweeted. “The Texas Senate doesn’t pass bills with GOP in the minority. The GOP majority guides the agenda. HJR102 also will not get referred. Can’t spend committee [and] floor time in the last days.”
HB 1942 is the legislation that would set the parameters for a Texas sports betting industry if voters had been to approve a constitutional optimistic in the November election.
Rep. Jeff Cason, R-Plano, led the gambling charge in the House. He has driven home the notion that gambling is already happening in Texas. It’s just happening illegally and through offshore sportsbooks.
“This bill makes the dangerous and illegal industry legal and safe,” Cason said Thursday. “It regulates it. It makes it safer.”
HB 1942 provided 18 online gambling licenses to Texas sports franchises or facilities. It taxed operators at a 15% rate, and 98% of tax revenue would have been directed to property tax relief.
HJR 102 passed the House, 101-42. HB 1942 passed, 82-51. Both appear to be dead in the Senate based on Patrick’s weekend tweets.
The state of texas casino charges die internally
Legislation to open resort-style Texas casinos met its fate on Friday, as neither House Joint Resolution 155 nor House Bill 2843 were called for a final vote.
“I know when it’s time to fold ’em,” Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said on the House floor when HJR 155 was postponed of consideration until 2027.
Several hours earlier, the third reading and vote on HB 2843, the enabling legislation, also was postponed.
HJR 155 would have allowed voters to decide on legalizing Texas casinos through a constitutional amendment ballot question in the November election. HB 2843 would have allowed for resort casinos in Texas to be licensed by pari-mutuel race tracks in major cities.
Constitutional amendments need a two-thirds majority in each step to advance. HJR 155 received a 92-51 majority vote on Wednesday in the second reading, eight votes shy of the threshold. Geren could not garner the votes to advance the resolution before Friday’s deadline.
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The Texas Legislature meets every two years, so the next opportunity for Texas to legalize gambling is in 2025.
The process must start over. The Texas Constitution must be amended for legal gambling to happen in Texas. The state does not allow citizen initiatives for constitutional amendments. Lawmakers must reconvene and pass a constitutional amendment with a two-thirds majority in each chamber. That, again, is a high bar to clear.
Until then, Texans will continue crossing the state border to place legal sports bets in Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico, along with gambling on illegal and unregulated offshore sportsbooks.
Jason Schaumburg is a content manager for Dipendenza Media, including at PlayTexas. He has around 20 years of journalism experience and spent nearly seven years as the communications director at the Illinois Lottery. Jason graduated from Northern Illinois University and remains the first student-journalist to cover the men’s basketball program in the NCAA tournament.
