Texas Sports Betting 2025: Expect a Lone Star Let Down
Earlier this week, Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) filed a bill again to allow Texas voters to express their opinions on online sports betting, although some market analysts think that bettors and the industry shouldn’t be overly optimistic.
Geren's measure, HJR 134, seeks to include the sports betting issue on the ballot in November. According to Texas law, expanding gaming necessitates changes to the state constitution, and any amendments to it must be presented to voters. The GOP legislator revived sports betting legislation following positive remarks from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on the topic in a recent interview.
"I don’t have a problem with online sports betting,” said the Republican governor on an episode of the Texas: The Issue Is podcast. “I’m not standing in the way of legislation moving forward and I wouldn’t rule out signing [a sports betting bill] into law.”
Although recognizing that Abbott's comments are positive, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) suggests that the statements probably indicate a more neutral position taken by the governor on sports betting rather than a clear endorsement.
Patrick Hinders Texas Sports Betting Efforts
Similar to past attempts to place online sports betting on the ballot in Texas, Lt. Gov. Patrick is a significant figure since he oversees the agenda for the state Senate.
The Texas House of Representatives approved a mobile sports betting bill last year, but that proposal failed in the Senate. Possibly aggravating the short-term sports betting scenario in Texas is the fact that the platform adopted by the Republican party last June incorporated clear anti-gaming expansion provisions.
Patrick "exercises almost exclusive control over the bills that are considered for voting in the Senate." Patrick asserts that there is inadequate backing for sports betting among Republican senators and is said to be hesitant to move forward with the bill even with bipartisan support,” EKG notes.
The research company also pointed out the obvious: unless Patrick alters his stance on sports betting soon, it's unlikely that voters will encounter the issue on the November ballot.
Texas Sports Betting Hopes Remain Alive
As we approached this year, prevailing beliefs regarding the expansion of online sports betting focused on the optimism that Georgia and Minnesota would align with Mississippi and Washington, where sports wagering is permitted, by transitioning to online platforms.
Despite being highly sought after by the industry, Georgia and Minnesota are states where sports betting laws fail to pass, and it is uncertain whether that will change this year. In Texas, it is clear and longstanding that gaming companies have a strong interest in legal sports betting.
Texas is not just the second-largest state in the nation, but it would also create a competitive sports betting market, independent of tribal gaming authority. At present, only the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Bet accepts sports bets in Florida, and that type of betting is not allowed in California as tribes there are not prepared to advance a new, associated ballot initiative.
