Texas: Casino, sports betting efforts find support in House, but hurdles remain

Texas: Casino, sports betting efforts find support in House, but hurdles remain

Article brief provided by The Texas Tribune
  • Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune
May 11, 2023 3:38 PM
  • Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune

The Texas House on Wednesday gave initial approval to legislation that would let voters decide whether to legalize casinos and online sports betting across the state. However, both proposals fell short of the 100 votes needed to advance out of the chamber, putting them in an uncertain position.

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The House passed the casino proposal, House Joint Resolution 155, by a vote of 92-51 and then the sports-betting proposal, House Joint Resolution 102, by a 97-44 vote. Both resolutions need a two-thirds majority on final passage because they seek to amend the Texas Constitution.

In any case, proposals to expand gaming face long odds in the Senate, where Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has repeatedly said there is not enough support. And they face a Friday deadline to receive final approval in the House ahead of the legislative session’s end on May 29.