Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he does not oppose the idea of lawmakers launching a bid to legalize online sports betting in the Lone Star State.
“I don’t have a problem with online sports betting,” Abbott said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle’s Texas Take podcast that will air on Friday, per the Chronicle’s reporting. “The reality is that I’d be shocked if there were not some Texans that do it already [illegally].”
“It’s a very common practice, and it seems to be part of the entertainment that goes along when you’re watching a football game, especially pro football or other types of sports and things like that. I don’t have a problem with that.”
However, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has repeatedly stated that he will not seek to call a vote on expanding gambling unless it is supported by a Republican majority.
The Texas legislature meets only every two years. In the last session in 2023, efforts to legalize sports betting and casinos in the state progressed further than ever before, garnering the necessary votes needed in the House to move forward. But Patrick said at the time that as a policy, Texas Republicans do not move on measures unless the majority of the Republicans in the chamber approve of the measure.
A change to Texas’ gambling laws would require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate and approval from state residents via a ballot referendum.
Texas sports betting has wave of external support
Since then, numerous parties have come out in support of legalizing sports wagering in the state.
A report from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) commissioned by the TSBA last fall projected that legal online sports betting in Texas could indirectly generate 900 direct jobs and nearly 8,000 wider employment opportunities in the state by the time the market were to hit maturity. Those numbers are substantially higher than any other regulated sports betting market has generated for a state.
Recent GeoComply data showed that approximately 1.48 million Texans attempted to log in to a legal sportsbook in November 2024 alone.
The Chronicle reported on Tuesday that a new University of Houston study suggested that 60% of 1,200 people polled in the state support legal online sports betting and 56% are good with the idea of hosting sportsbooks in Texas stadiums.
