Legalized sports betting will not be available in Texas until 2025. That’s because even though HJR102, state Rep. Jeff Leach’s sports wagering bill, passed the House 101-42, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick stopped it in the Senate−and the Texas legislature only meets every other year.
In a pair of tweets posted on May 13 and May 14, Patrick, who presides over the Senate wrote, “Texas is a red state. Yet the House vote on sports betting was carried by a Dem majority. The Texas Senate doesn’t pass bills without GOP in the minority. The GOP majority guides our path. HJR102 also will not be referred. Can’t waste committee/floor time in the last days. #txlege.”
The current session ended on May 29.
Texas Sports Betting Alliance spokesperson Cara Gufstason told Legal Sports Report, “By no means do we consider this a loss. We consider it a huge win. We definitely made a lot of progress. I think all that momentum can carry over into 2025 and maybe the third time will be a charm.”
The alliance consists of all major professional Texas sports teams and sportsbook operators to promote legal mobile sports betting.
The group’s spokesman, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, said in a statement, “We are thankful for and encouraged by the months of thoughtful policy discussions on both sides of the aisle, in both chambers, this legislative session to bring a legal mobile sports betting market to Texans, who deserve the chance to vote on legalizing sports betting. We will continue working to put this initiative on the ballot in 2025.”
Also in Texas gaming news, state Senator Bob Hall’s SB1820 would eliminate the sale of online lottery tickets, closing an existing loophole that was created in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, the Texas Lottery, without legislative approval, started selling tickets via the internet and phone. The new rules allowed lottery courier services like Jackpocket and Mido Lotto to sell tickets through a licensed lottery retailer.
The bill passed the Senate in a 29-2 vote on April 12. Since then, it’s had a reading in the House and now sits in the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee.
Hall said under his bill, the state would regulate all lottery sales. He said lottery sales should be limited to regulated Texas retail locations since the state has no regulatory authority over online lottery couriers.
Austin attorney Jay Stewart, representing Jackpocket, said online courier services are a “convenience.” He told PlayUSA, “I call Jackpocket a company of convenience, just like Uber or DoorDash. It allows those people that can’t make it out to their local retailer an opportunity to play something which they’re legally allowed to do.”
In January, Jackpot.com launched in Texas with $42 million in funding from some of the state’s professional sports franchises. The online lottery ticket courier has exclusive marketing partnerships with the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.
Jackpot.com Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Akshay K. Khanna told PlayUSA, “More than half of Americans buy lottery tickets each year, but only a fraction are bought online, including in Texas, the country’s third-largest lottery market. Texans embrace innovation, and we know people across the Lone Star State will embrace Jackpot.com’s modern way to play.”
