Bill Filed in Texas House to Legalize Sports Betting

AUSTIN, TX — State Rep. Sam Harless (R-Spring) filed House Joint Resolution 134 on Wednesday to allow Texans to vote on legalizing sports betting.

If approved, it would put a constitutional amendment regarding sports betting on the November ballot.

The Texas House passed a bill in the previous legislative session that would have allowed regulated gambling, but the bill failed in the Texas Senate.

Gov. Greg Abbott recently was quoted as saying he had “no problem” with people gambling on sports, but those views have not been shared by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who runs the Texas Senate.

He helped extinguish the bill’s hopes in 2023, and he has consistently said that he will not call a vote on an expansion of gambling unless there is a Republican majority in the chamber that supports it.

“The 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,” Andy Abboud, the Las Vegas Sands Casino senior vice president of government relations, said in a statement. “Texans want to decide and vote on this issue, and we look forward to working with the legislature to give them that opportunity this session.”

The Texans Against Gambling Group posted on X recently its stance.

“Sports gambling and casinos are economically regressive, scholarly studies show, because they produce nothing of external value,” the post stated. “They do not spur long-term economic growth. Instead they hinder it. Keep Texas, Texas.”