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Texas Sports Betting – Current Status & Timelines
Since the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, sports betting has rapidly spread across the United States, with legal betting sites spreading nationwide across dozens of states.
Thus far, Texas hasn’t been one of them. While the Lone Star state houses many advocates for the legalization of betting apps, multiple recent attempts to see that process through have been thwarted. Below, we’ll go over the status of sports betting legalization efforts in Texas.
Texas Sports Betting: The Latest
The Texas state legislature convenes every two years, and their most recent legislative session adjourned in May 2023. Multiple bills were brought forward in the Texas House of Representatives that – if passed – would’ve seen legal sports betting introduced to the state.
Bill HJR 102, specifically, would’ve paved the way for legal online sports betting in Texas if passed. While the bill cleared the House by a vote of 97-42, it failed to pass in the Senate.
Legal Texas betting apps remain relegated to DFS markets.
Texas Sports Betting Legal Hurdles
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick was vocal about his opposition to passing HJR 102. As a member of the Republican Party and a leading figure in a state with a red legislature, Patrick claimed he was principally opposed to passing legislature that didn’t receive wide GOP support. While HJR 102 was introduced by a Republican representative in Jeff Leach, it passed with a Democrat majority vote.
Will We See Online Sports Betting in TX in 2024?
No. As the Texas legislature meets biennially, there will be no session in 2024 where a bill to legalize sports betting can be introduced. The push to bring legal sports betting to Texas is backed by legislators in both parties, multiple influential business interests, and a significant number of voting Texans, but the soonest they’ll be able to make any further progress is 2025.
