Texas House OKs letting voters decide on sports betting. What’s next for the proposal?

The Texas House on Thursday agreed to let voters decide whether to legalize sports betting in the state.

The proposal for online sports betting is backed by a number of professional sports teams in Texas, including the Dallas Cowboys, and would put sports betting on the ballot. The bill’s author, Rep. Jeff Leach, in explaining the bill Wednesday, stressed that illegal sports betting is already happening and argued that legalizing the practice would deter that. The need to regulate the online sports betting industry is a key argument of the measure’s supporters.

“This is simply allowing what is currently taking place in the state of Texas to be done in a noncriminal, yet constitutional way,” Leach, a Plano Republican, said Wednesday.

House Joint Resolution 102 was initially approved on Wednesday, but was short of the votes needed to get final passage and be sent to the Senate, where it still faces long odds. (Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said the votes aren’t there for expanded gambling, though a Senate version of the sports betting bill has been filed by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican.)

The measure passed 101-42 on Thursday, getting just enough votes to advance. The House also approved a companion bill that sets regulations for sports betting in Texas.

“We are extremely grateful for Rep. Leach’s unwavering dedication in securing the votes necessary to send our legislation to the Senate,” said Texas Sports Betting Alliance spokesperson Cara Gustafson, in a statement sent by text. “This is a historic day for Texas and its millions of sports fans. The work is not over and we remain focused on securing votes in the Senate to ensure Texas voters get the chance to have their voice heard on the November ballot.”

The proposals would have to be set for a committee hearing, advance to the full Senate and win approval there before heading to voters.

Rob Kohler, a consultant with the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist general convention of Texas, which opposes the sports betting bills, the said he understood the proposals could get out of the House when the session began.

“Everybody in this building knows that piece of legislation is going to the Senate where they’re not high on expansion of gambling,” he said. “Don’t expect any movement over there.”

Leach’s bill setting the framework for sports betting bars betting for those under 21. It establishes permitting and allows sport governing bodies to enter into commercial agreements. Betting on youth sports would not be allowed.

Initially, as proposed, operators would have owed a 10% tax on net revenue, most of which would go to the Texas Education Agency for property tax relief. Two percent would also go to a fund for problem gaming and addiction. A Wednesday amendment from Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat, increased the the tax to 15%, in addition to other changes.

The Texas Legislative Budget Board estimates the legislation as originally filed could generate $175.7 million in general revenue for Texas by the end of August 2025.

Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, added the National Lacrosse League to the list of sports that could be bet on through a Wednesday amendment.

Thirty-three states and Washington, D.C., have sports betting, according to the American Gaming Association.

Rep. Julie Johnson, a Farmers Branch Democrat, touted the benefits sports betting profits could have for women’s sports.

“What this bill will do for women’s basketball and women’s professional sports is transformational,” Johnson said.

Opponents of expanded gambling have raised concerns with crime and addiction, as lawmakers consider both sports betting and expanded casino gambling. The vote on a bill allowing Texans to decide on a limited number of destination resorts was delayed until at least 10 p.m. Thursday. An accompanying bill laying out the framework for casinos got initial approval 63-49, but the delayed bill has a higher threshold to pass and advance to the Senate.

“Members, I laid out for you the concerns, the grave concerns, I have with casinos. Online gambling is worse and here’s why,” said Rep. Matt Shaheen, a Plano Republican.

With casinos, at least there’s at least a geographic restriction, he said.

“Now we’re talking online,” he said, later raising concerns about gambling companies targeting children. “Now we’re talking every Texan. Thirty million Texans have access to online gambling. And here’s the issue, when you go into a casino you’re dealing mostly with cash. With your device you’re dealing with a credit card.”

Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer on Wednesday said “it’s not a no, it’s a not now” on expanded gambling. The San Antonio Democrat who chairs the House Democratic Caucus also opposed a separate set of bills that would let voters decide on a limited number of destination resort style casinos in Texas.

“It’s the same argument,” he said. “It’s not a no, it’s not now. There’s work to be done on this. We have a revenue stream. We need to prioritize how we’re going to do that. We need to make sure that we have other guardrails, protections, and I think that this is one of these things that we know is not going to go anywhere across the hall.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.