Sports betting bills died in the Texas and Missouri legislatures last week, much to the disappointment of those backing legalized wagering on sports in those states.
In Texas it appears one man derailed sports betting in the Lone Star State. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tweeted last week that HB 1942 would not receive consideration in the Senate after it passed overwhelmingly in the House.
Patrick has the power as president of the Texas Senate to see what bills make it to the floor for a vote. He decided that this bill would not be one of the ones to make the cut.
Patrick claimed that the Senate didn’t have the two-thirds majority to pass the bill. Both the House and the Senate needed two-thirds to put it on the ballot for voters, who would also need a two-thirds majority for it to pass.
“I’ve said repeatedly there is little to no support for expanding gaming from Senate GOP,” Patrick’s Twitter post read. “I polled members this week. Nothing changed. The senate must focus on issues voters expect us to pass. We don’t waste time on bills without overwhelming GOP support. HB1942 won’t be referred.”
Even with bipartisan support, and the blessing of the Dallas Cowboys, Mavericks and Stars, Patrick did not budge. Professional sports teams would be licensed to partner with sportsbooks.
The Texas Legislature only meets every two years. That means sports betting won’t be in the Lone Star State until 2025 at the earliest.
Missouri also watched its chances to approve sports betting slip away, as the Senate failed to advance a bill for a vote before the legislature adjourned for the year.
Many on both sides of the aisle blamed a few Republicans for the bill’s demise. A squabble between Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin and Senaotrs Bill Eigel and Denny Hoskins were at the forefront of why the bill failed to come to vote.
O’Laughlin was in her first year as the Senate’s majority leader and looked to get several bills pushed through before they adjourned for the year. She implemented several procedural motions with the goal of getting sports betting before the Upper House.
Hoskins, who is the sponsor of the measure and an ally of Eigel, set the bill aside without debate. Hoskins was seeking to have the issue of illegal slot machines regulated as well. When that didn’t happen, he effectively killed his own sports betting bill.
Eigel was miffed that his personal property tax reduction legislation was defeated on a procedural vote. He retaliated by conducting a filibuster.
That made O’Laughlin accuse Eigel of conducting what she called “political theater” that resembles “mud wrestling.”
“People bring legislation to the floor that they cannot get passed and then, in retaliation for that, they hang up the business of the Senate for hour after hour after hour,” O’Laughlin told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We’re not all running for governor. We just want to do the work of the Senate. We need cooperation from everyone to get that done.”
Eigel, who is running for governor, rebuffed O’Laughlin’s claim.
“The theater of Jefferson City will go on long after we gavel out today,” Eigel said. “Nobody got into politics because they were intent on being nice.”
Senate President Caleb Rowden decried the fact Missouri doesn’t have sports betting, especially when nearly all surrounding states do. He suggested that Hoskins and Eigel had a personal problem with O’Laughlin.
“Maybe they don’t like a woman being in charge,” Rowden told the Post-Dispatch.
With sports betting once again not available in Missouri, professional sports teams may take control over the issue. St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt said he is considering starting a petition to put a question on the 2024 ballot seeking the approval of sports betting.
