texas sports betting – FairOdds Network

February 13, 2025

Texas sports betting constitutional amendment filed

Texas representative Sam Harless filed the first gambling bill of the session on Wednesday (12 February). The constitutional amendment would send the decision to legalise sports betting to state voters in November.

HJR 134 appears to call only for retail sports betting, although it does not explicitly prohibit digital wagering. It would allow for professional sports teams, PGA Tour stops and Class I racetracks to become licensed. The proposal requires that any potential licensees be in existence as of 1 January 2025. Licensees would be able to work with management service providers to operate sportsbooks.

There is no framework in the constitutional amendment and the language is vague:

The constitutional amendment authorising the legislature to legalise wagering in this state on certain sporting events.

Other state legislatures, including Louisiana and Maryland, have gone down similar pathways. Should voters approve in Texas as they did in those states, the legislature would then..

February 5, 2025

Texas governor OK with legal sports betting, but his words may not matter

On Tuesday (4 February) Texas governor Greg Abbott said during a podcast that he doesn't “have a problem with online sports betting”. But he's not the Texas politician who has the power to call – or block – a vote in the senate.

Abbott, who has been the governor since 2015, said during his re-election run in 2021 that he wasn’t opposed to gambling in his state. According to the Texas Tribune, he and former house speaker Dade Phelan went “further” in their support.

The sticking point in the Lone Star State has long been lieutenant governor Dan Patrick. He has consistently said that he will not call a vote on an expansion of gambling in Texas unless there is a Republican majority to support it.

I've said repeatedly there is little to no support for expanding gaming from Senate GOP. I polled members this week. Nothing changed. The senate must focus on issues voters expect us to pass. We don’t waste time on bills without overwhelming GOP support. HB1942 won’t be referre..

December 31, 2024

Try, try again: 11 US states don’t have legal wagering; at least four are contenders in 2025

It would be fair to say that the gambling industry would consider 2024 an epic fail in regards to legalisation. No US state expanded gambling of any kind, marking the first year since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act fell in 2018 that that happened.

With 2025 on the horizon, hope springs. Seven years after sports betting became a states’ rights issue, eleven US states have not legalised. It seems likely that at least one – Utah – never will. But what about the rest?

Below is a look at prospects in the 10 other states without legal wagering.

Alabama

In 2024, Alabama lawmakers tried a big lift – the legalisation of everything from lottery to casino to sports betting. All in a state with no gambling, other than electronic bingo on Indian land and historic horse racings at pari-mutuel facilities. The state legislature ultimately gutted and then failed to pass any proposals.

So far, no bills have been pre-filed for the legislative session, which is set to run from..

December 2, 2024

Miriam Adelson more than quadruples 2022 Texas gambling contributions

The Adelson family, now majority owners of the Dallas Mavericks, have heavily backed gambling legislation in Texas over the last several sessions. But despite all the dollars put in, Texas politicians have not meaningfully considered the issue.

The Texas legislature meets only in odd-numbered years. During the 2023 session, the house approved a bill that would have allowed for statewide mobile betting controlled by the state’s professional sports teams and other sports entities, with the tax rate set at 10%. A destination resorts bill that included casinos was withdrawn from the house floor without a vote. Besides that, Texas’ lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, said at that time he wouldn’t call for a vote on legal wagering.

He tweeted, “I’ve said repeatedly there is little to no support for expanding gaming from senate GOP. I polled members this week. Nothing changed. The senate must focus on issues voters expect us to pass. We don’t waste time on bills without overwhelming GOP sup..

August 23, 2024

Don’t hold your breath on legal wagering in Texas next year

The heightened opposition to gambling in general – fueled by the casino debate – is now spilling over into the discussion around sports betting
The future of legalised sports betting in Texas has become entangled in a web of lobbying efforts and political manoeuvring centred around the more contentious issue of casino legalisation. The Lone Star State is the second largest in the US after California to not have legal sports betting. And it is facing increasingly complex challenges that could derail the prospects for legalisation in the near future.

According to a recent report from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG), a Southern California-based advisory firm specialising in the gaming industry, Texas has been removed from the list of states likely to legalise sports betting in 2025. The report highlights the growing influence of anti-gaming advocates and the intensified lobbying for casino legalisation as significant obstacles to the advancement of sports betting legislation. As a result, ..

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Tag: texas sports betting