Interest is continuing to grow in some sort of gaming bill in the Texas legislature, although many observers, including Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, think the pursuit is mainly fool’s gold.
Patrick told a Lubbock radio show last week, “It’s not even an issue that’s going to see the light of day this session.” He added, “We are nowhere close to having the votes for it.”
Texas is the second most populous U.S. state and is considered a plum of enormous value by the Las Vegas Sands Corp., which began wooing lawmakers shortly before the death of LVS founder Sheldon Adelson, hiring a team of 50 lobbyists.
Since California is already densely populated with casinos, Texas would be the largest untapped casino market as well as a market for sports betting; the Sands is promoting a bill that would target the state’s largest cities for five casino resorts.
Andy Abboud, senior vice president of government affairs for the Las Vegas Sands, said, “We view sports wagering as a component of our efforts in bringing destination resorts to Texas and creating robust, long-term economic development and jobs for the state. We look forward to working in tandem with their coalition during the legislative session.”
Some political observers say ruling Republicans may be sympathetic to an expansion of gaming, the first advance since the lottery was approved in the 1990s.
Governor Greg Abbott, who stoutly opposed a gaming expansion when he took office in 2015, may be thawing about sports betting, according to a reported comment by his confidante Phil Cox. The governor’s support, or at least neutrality would be key to such legislation passing. Patrick’s opposition seems likely, given his comment.
Rep. Dan Huberty estimates that a 10 percent tax on gaming could “generate several hundred million dollars.”
However, Texas is not as ripe for the plucking as it once was, because recent figures indicate the state’s budget problems are not nearly as bad as once thought. It has not been hit as hard by the pandemic as other states.
Senator Jane Nelson, who chairs the Senate’s budget committee commented recently, “The release of the biennial revenue estimate, which showed July’s $4.6 billion shortfall estimate, is now projected to be a $946 million shortfall.
The state’s top sports franchises have added their weight to the push for sports betting. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas and Texas Rangers have all joined the Sports Betting Alliance, which says it will soon reveal other members as well as unveil its proposed bill.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently made a deal with WinStar World Casino in Oklahoma for sports betting, the first such deal in the history of the NFL.
A sports betting only bill was filed in January by Rep. Harold Dutton. It would need to be passed by a supermajority of the legislature and put on the ballot for a vote of the people to amend the constitution, which currently forbids most forms of gaming.
Rep. Joe Deshotel has filed a bill that would also amend the constitution and allow casinos on the Gulf Coast.
This week Senator Roland Guiterrez filed a bill to permit up to a dozen casinos in the state;.
Guiterrez, Dutton and Deshotel are members of the minority party, and so there is not much gas in the three proposals. So far no Republicans have filed any gaming bills.
That could change once the Sports Betting Alliance announce their bill. Sports betting would seem to be a slam dunk for a state populated by so many sports enthusiasts. As Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President Charlotte Jones said, “Unregulated and illegal sports gambling is already taking place in the state of Texas.”
Sports betting and casinos aren’t the only kind of gaming being looked at by lawmakers. So is Daily Fantasy Sports, a multi-billion dollar industry which may or may not be legal in the state, depending on who you ask.
Bob Latham of the Texas-based law firm Jackson Walker said, “There’s no definitive answer to that and that’s the issue.” In 2016, Attorney General Ken Paxton said that in his opinion daily fantasy sports was illegal because it relies partially on chance. That resulted in FanDuel leaving the state and DraftKings suing, a court case that has yet to be resolved.
Latham added, “The issue is murky. It comes down to what you think a daily fantasy sports league is. Where do you draw the line between skill and chance? Most lawyers could probably make the argument on both sides.”
Hoping to clear up the issue, Rep. Joe Moody has filed a fantasy sports betting bill in the current session. “Let’s fix this. Let’s make it clear,” he said. He added, “It only takes one prosecutor somewhere that thinks this is illegal betting. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Some sources claim state residents take about $2.5 billion out of the state to casinos from which Texas gets nothing.
Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project, told Texomas about other likely opponents: “Values conservatives who oppose gambling in principle for moral reasons and those who were skeptical of the social hazards that might be seen as attending gambling: gambling addiction (and) the kinds of economic hardships that could result from people that have gaming problems.”
The biannual Texas legislative session will end May 31. That means any legislation not adopted by then would have to wait two years for another chance.
