A Texas House committee has advanced two pieces of legislation that would expand gambling allowing both sportsbooks and casinos to launch in the Lone Star state.
Both proposals had been made in the previous legislative session and received hearings in committee. However, they were never voted on at the time and yesterday the committee opted to approve both pieces of legislation without discussion by a vote of 9-3.
It represents progress for the bills, despite the fact that they still face stiff opposition in the Senate. Should the bills be approved, they would give voters the chance to have their say on land-based casinos and online sportsbooks through a ballot measure. The proposed legislation requires a change in the Texas constitution which needs a majority in both chambers.
If approved by voters, House Bill 2843 would authorize casino gambling in Texas and allow any newly established casinos to open retail sportsbooks. Meanwhile, House Bill 1942 would legalize online sports betting in Texas.
The members of the committee cast their votes on a revised edition of the casino bill, commonly referred to as a “committee substitute,” without any deliberation on its content. The updated form of the legislation has not been made available to the public yet.
Casino legislation is heavily backed by Las Vegas Sands which has spent a great deal of money on campaigning for legal casinos over the past three years. Following the vote, Matt Hirsch, a spokesperson for Sands’ lobby effort, said in a statement:
“The efforts to bring destination resorts to Texas made significant progress with today’s vote. Texans have made it clear that they want destination resorts in Texas, and we are now one step closer to ultimately allowing them to decide on this issue.”
Texas Senator Carol Alvarado introduced similar legislation earlier this year. SJR17 will ask voters to decide on the expansion of gambling in Texas and will include the establishment of a gaming commission.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.