Undeterred by four years of sluggish progress and certain defeat at the Texas Capitol, the gambling industry is plodding ahead with its ambitious bid to legalize casinos and sports betting in a state with some of the most restrictive gaming laws in the country.
For the third straight session, the Las Vegas Sands casino empire has deployed a murderers鈥� row of high-powered lobbyists to coax the Republican-controlled Legislature into authorizing 鈥渄estination resorts鈥� with casino gambling in Texas鈥� largest cities.
Also part of the lobbying blitz is the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, a coalition of the state鈥檚 pro sports teams, racetracks and betting platforms 鈥� such as FanDuel and DraftKings 鈥� that is looking to extend its momentum from 2023, when a proposal to legalize online sports betting squeaked through the Texas House.
It was the furthest either chamber had gone toward loosening the state鈥檚 169-year-old gambling restrictions. But it was also largely symbolic: Lt. Gov. , a Republican who runs the Texas Senate, immediately quashed the measure, citing his repeated claims that there is minimal support among the chamber鈥檚 GOP majority to expand gambling.
With the 74-year-old Patrick in office until January 2027 and vowing to seek another four-year term, supporters and opponents of gambling legalization have settled into a state of trench warfare in the House. It is a familiar playbook gaming industry leaders have used to legalize gambling in : patience and money, in large doses, until the breakthrough comes. In Texas, that means pursuing incremental wins until a base of support calcifies in the House, laying the groundwork for when the Senate is run by someone more sympathetic.
鈥淭he effort to bring destination resorts to Texas has received an overwhelming amount of support from Texans and lawmakers since it was first introduced, and the groundswell of momentum is only continuing to build,鈥� Andy Abboud, Sands鈥� senior vice president of government relations, said in a statement. 鈥淭exans want to decide and vote on this issue, and we look forward to working with the legislature to give them that opportunity this session.鈥�
Opponents include the Texas Republican Party, the , advocacy groups like , and a litany of conservative activist organizations. While Patrick鈥檚 shared opposition virtually ensures nothing will make it out of the Legislature this session, the anti-gambling contingent still wants to prevent gaming interests from establishing a beachhead in the House.
鈥淪ports gambling and casinos are economically regressive, scholarly studies show, because they produce nothing of external value,鈥� the Texans Against Gambling group last week. 鈥淭hey do not spur long-term economic growth. Instead they hinder it. Keep Texas, Texas.鈥�
The comment came days after Gov. voiced guarded support for sports betting legalization, , 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a problem鈥� with such a proposal 鈥� echoing comments from 2023 when he he would not stand in the way.
Abbott鈥檚 comments generated a burst of excitement among sports betting advocates, paired with the release of from the University of Houston鈥檚 Hobby School of Public Affairs that found 60% of Texans support legalized sports betting, including 64% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans.
Still, sports betting legislation has yet to be filed in the House, and the author who carried the measure through the chamber two years ago, Republican Rep. of Plano, in December he did not plan to push his own legislation again unless the Senate moved first. Leach did not respond to a request for comment.
Karina Kling, a spokesperson for the Sports Betting Alliance, said the group expects legislation to be filed soon in the House. Lawmakers have until March 14, the 60th day of the session, to file most bills, including gambling measures.
The same University of Houston poll measured 73% support for legalizing 鈥渄estination resort casinos鈥� in Texas 鈥� a prospect for which Abbott in recent years.
Statewide backing for casinos has consistently outpaced that for sports betting, said Mark Jones, a Rice University political science professor who helped conduct the survey. Still, it was sports betting legislation that cleared the Texas House in 2023 with 101 votes, while the casino measure fell short with just 92 votes.
Texas鈥� gaming laws can be changed only by amending the state constitution, which requires two-thirds approval in both chambers 鈥� including the 150-member House 鈥� and support from a majority of voters on the statewide ballot. Rep. , a Fort Worth Republican who carried the casino amendment in the lower chamber two years ago, did not respond to a request for comment about whether he planned to revive the effort again this session.
Jones said that for the handful of Republican lawmakers who voted for sports betting and against resort casinos, it likely came down to a belief that voters would have a more muted response to online sports betting, because it is not 鈥減hysically present鈥� in the same way as resort-style casinos and the 鈥渁ctual visuals of people engaged in gambling鈥� there.
鈥淚 think, from a legislator鈥檚 perspective, for at least a subset, there was the belief that the blowback for voting for online sports betting is going to be more reduced than the blowback for voting for casinos,鈥� Jones said.
Those who support online sports betting argue that many Texans are already betting illegally and spending millions of untaxed dollars that would otherwise generate revenue for the state. Legalizing and regulating the practice, they argue, would shield those users from risky, illicit markets.
The failed 2023 casino legislation would have authorized at least eight licenses for casino gambling at destination resorts across Texas, with preference for metro areas where horse-racing has already been authorized. Geren amended the bill to set aside 80% of casino tax revenue for teacher pay raises and cost-of-living adjustments for retired teachers.
But while supportive lawmakers touted the jobs and other economic benefits of casinos, opponents that casinos would lead to spikes in human trafficking, domestic violence and gambling addiction, bringing more trouble than it was worth. The measure was also bitterly opposed by the Eagle Pass-based Kickapoo Tribe, which is allowed under federal law to operate a casino offering bingo-based games, a notch below Las Vegas-style options like blackjack and roulette. Tribal leaders said the legislation would have wiped out their main source of revenue 鈥� guests from San Antonio 鈥� by diverting them to a new casino in the Alamo City.
Both sides of the gambling push in Texas 鈥� resort casinos and online sports betting 鈥� could face steeper odds this session, Jones said, with the ouster of several pro-gambling Republican incumbents who were replaced by hardline conservatives opposed to gaming measures.
And the House鈥檚 new leader, Speaker , R-Lubbock, opposed casino and sports betting legislation last session, while his predecessor, Rep. , R-Beaumont, he wanted to authorize 鈥渄estination-style casinos that are high quality.鈥�
Even if Burrows wanted to expand gambling, Jones said, the move would provide ammunition for his critics from the Texas GOP鈥檚 rightmost flank 鈥� most of whom oppose efforts to legalize casinos and online sports betting and are eager to challenge Burrows and his allies in next year鈥檚 primaries.
鈥淭he challenge will depend in part on the legislation that he passes and does not pass this session,鈥� Jones said of Burrows. 鈥淪o, strategically, it may not make a lot of sense for Burrows to bring online sports betting and casino gambling to the floor, because if he passes that legislation, that's a potential liability in 2026.鈥�
Thus far, the only gambling legalization measure has been filed by Sen. , a Houston Democrat who has penned similar legislation each session since she joined the Legislature in 2009. The proposal, like in past years, would impose a 15% tax on gross casino revenue and use it for public education, public safety and 鈥渞esponsible gaming鈥� education for adults.
Though the measure is unlikely to go anywhere in the Patrick-led Senate, Alvarado said filing it gives her more excuses to evangelize about the tourism, conventions and other business that would flow in by way of the new high-end hotels.
鈥淵ou do these things with the notion that we're in for the long haul,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is not a sprint, it's a marathon.鈥�