KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Democrat Vikki Goodwin unseated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, removing the official who kept Texas gambling bills off the Senate floor for years.
- Legalization still requires a constitutional amendment backed by two-thirds of a Senate where Republicans still hold a 19-seat majority.
- Industry observers say the result could speed up a timeline many saw as stalled until the 2030s.
The biggest obstacle to Texas sports betting and iGaming expansion will be gone when lawmakers return to Austin for the 2027 regular session.
As part of an overwhelming blue voting wave on Tuesday, Democratic state Rep. Vikki Goodwin defeated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a staunch opponent to Texas gambling expansion who killed multiple sports betting efforts the past several years. The win was part of a statewide Democratic sweep that also:
- Sent state Rep. James Talarico to the U.S. Senate
- Ousted Gov. Greg Abbott in favor of Gina Hinojosa
- Flipped the attorney general’s office to Nathan Johnson
The lieutenant governor presides over the Texas Senate and controls which bills reach the floor. For more than a decade, Patrick used that power to stop gambling expansion before senators could debate it.
“It certainly changes the calculus,” Texas billionaire Mark Cuban told SBC Americas Wednesday. “But I have no knowledge of anything that may or may not happen.”
Industry professionals agree that it opens a door, but there is still plenty to shake out before anything Texas gambling expansion.
“What we all consider to be the single largest blocker to even floor consideration of gambling debate will now be out of office,” said Josh Kirschner, Holland & Knight partner and deputy leader of its gaming practice. “That is a sea change.”
Texas sports betting, casino timeline likely moves up
None of the Election Day developments mean Texas gambling expansion will happen quickly.
Texas still needs a constitutional amendment, a supermajority in a Republican Senate and a statewide vote. Before Tuesday, Bussmann expected a long wait. It could have been four more years with Patrick, redistricting in 2030, potential legislative passage in 2031 leading to a 2032 ballot and operations in 2033.
“Is gaming alive? I don’t know, but it’s better than it was yesterday,” said Brendan Bussmann, managing partner at advisory firm B Global and has followed the Texas fight since 2006, when he worked for Las Vegas Sands. “We’ll see where the governor stands, Lt. Gov. stands. There’s a host of different things there.
“The thought that Texas won’t do this until 2033, I would say, is no longer the case. That moves up, but we don’t know what that looks like. There are a lot of conversations that have to happen.”
How Patrick blocked Texas sports betting, casinos
The clearest example of Patrick’s Texas gambling interference came in 2023.
The Texas House passed a constitutional amendment to let voters decide on online sports betting by a 101-42 vote, barely clearing the necessary two-thirds threshold. It was the farthest any gambling bill had advanced in the state in two decades.
Patrick ended its run within days.
He later shut down a Texas gambling expansion effort before the session even started. In November 2024, Patrick told CBS News Texas, “We aren’t even close to having 15 votes or 16 votes for casinos” among Senate Republicans. Casino and sports betting proposals were filed, but none advanced out of committee.
New leader does not guarantee floor vote
A change in Senate leadership opens the door, but it does not assure Texas sports betting or casino expansion.
Goodwin will preside over a chamber Republicans still control. The Texas Senate held at 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats, even as Democrats flipped the House for the first time since 2003. Republicans could also rewrite chamber rules to limit Goodwin’s authority over committee appointments and legislation, an idea that came up before Patrick lost.
There will need to be bipartisan cooperation if a Texas sports betting or casino proposal is to succeed. Any gambling expansion in Texas requires a constitutional amendment, which needs 100 votes in the House and 21 in the Senate, then a majority of voters.
Even if every Senate Democrat supports a resolution, backers would still need at least nine Republicans.
How new Senate president, state governor view gaming
Goodwin is open to the idea. She voted for the 2023 expansion proposals as a House member. In an interview with FOX 7 Austin in September 2025, she framed the issue as one for voters.
“Well, I think that we should allow personal freedom, personal responsibility in the state of Texas,” Goodwin said. “You know, I have friends who leave the state to go to Las Vegas, to Louisiana, et cetera. And they say, why can’t we have it here in Texas? It seems like a recent survey showed that over 50% of Texans do gamble already. And so, why don’t we allow them to vote to have a say?”
Hinojosa is less certain. The governor-elect opposed both 2023 constitutional amendments, and gambling played little role in her campaign. She cannot veto a constitutional amendment, but she would have major influence over the enabling legislation that sets licensing and tax terms.
Will Fertitta push Texas gambling?
Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and Fertitta Entertainment, could be a driver for Texas gambling expansion, said Ronnie Jones, former chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and current industry consultant.
Fertitta, serving as U.S. ambassador to Italy, spent most of the past year on his $17.6bn deal for Caesars Entertainment. Caesars shareholders approved the deal in September, but it still needs Federal Trade Commission approval.
If it closes, the Texas native would control 60 casino resorts and one of the largest digital sportsbook and iCasino platforms in the country, built around a home state that allows none of it.
“I suspect this may lure Tilman out of his Italian villa to join in the effort,” Jones said. “While the Caesars purchase has probably occupied him during the last year, last night’s results may have shuffled the deck for his priorities moving forward. And he’s a smart businessman, if anybody can get this done, he can.”
Jones also expects the effects to reach beyond Texas into neighboring Louisiana and Oklahoma.
“Regrettably, that’s probably bad news for my home state because so much of Louisiana gaming customers cross the Sabine River to roll the dice,” he said. “I believe this will also ultimately impact the Oklahoma tribal market in very negative ways.”
Casino money could set agenda
A Dallas Morning News investigation estimated that Las Vegas Sands majority owner Miriam Adelson spent about $29m on Texas political activity, much of it through Sands-linked PACs. Adelson put $9m into Texas Sands PAC and Texas Defense PAC last summer alone. The returns were not ideal for Adelson, as anti-gambling Republicans beat Sands-backed challengers in the March primaries.
That money, along with stronger polling for resorts than for mobile wagering, points toward casinos as the likeliest first step, Kirschner said. A 2025 University of Houston poll found 73% support for destination resort casinos, compared with 60% for sports betting.
“Maybe the path Texas takes is casino first rather than any form of mobile,” Kirschner said. “You’ll have everyone pushing for everything. The Adelsons are notorious absolutists on no to mobile.”
The Sands perspective could also look different than it did a year ago. Adelson sold her Dallas Mavericks shares to her daughter Sivan and son-in-law Patrick Dumont last month, leaving the Dumonts with a 69% controlling stake. Dumont still is CEO of Las Vegas Sands and is pushing ahead with a new arena and entertainment district at the former Valley View Mall site.
MAGA donors meet Democratic leadership
Fertitta donated actively to President Donald Trump‘s 2024 campaign, and Adelson ranks among Trump’s top financial supporters.
Now, the state’s newly elected Democratic leaders hold the keys they need.
“All the largest proponents of gambling in the state, Fertitta and Adelson, are MAGA base Republicans but with more money than anyone else,” Kirschner said. “What is their relationship with the newly elected Dems? If Dems know it is a priority for people who put in massive amounts of money to Trump and Republicans, are they still willing to give them what they want?”
Kirschner also expects the Choctaw Nation and other tribal interests to seek a share, along with “a whole new breed of lobbyists.”
He said they are still Texas Democrats and might make the issue about individual liberty and prefer to let voters decide.
