Bills to expand casino and sports betting in Texas clears House committee
House Bill 2843 and House Bill 1942 have moved forward in the Texas House.
US.- The Texas House State Affairs Committee has approved a pair of sports betting bills that could bring sports betting and casinos to the state. It’s the furthest the sports betting discussion has gone in Texas.
The committee voted 9-3 to approve the bills. HB 1942 and HJR 102, presented by representative Jeff Leach seek to legalise online sports betting through a constitutional amendment. HJR 155 from representative Charlie Geren and its enabling legislation HB 2843 from representative John Kuempel, seek to legalise sports betting and allow “destination resort” casinos in the state.
The bills and resolutions now head to the Calendars Committee, which determines which legislation makes it to the House floor. Even if approved by a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers, the legislation still would require a statewide public vote on November 7. This would be necessary to amend the Texas Constitution, which prohibits most gambling.
Leach’s online sports betting bill is supported by the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, which is comprised of Texas professional sports franchises, sports leagues, race tracks, and sports betting platforms. The proposed laws will allow for the legalisation of online sports betting through Texas professional sports teams. If approved, WNBA, MLS, MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL franchises in the state will be eligible for online sports betting licences.
Leach’s bill sets the online sports betting tax rate at 10 per cent of adjusted gross sports betting revenue and each licence will cost $500,000. Meanwhile, Geren’s legislation proposes allowing gaming companies to apply for licences to build seven high-end “destination resorts” in Texas.
The locations would include two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, two in the Houston area and one each in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and McAllen. The legislation would allow casino gaming and sports wagering at the resorts. A Texas Gaming Commission would be created to regulate the activity.
The bill would impose a 15 per cent tax on the gross casino gaming revenue of each casino licence holder.
Last November, senator Carol Alvarado pre-filed Senate Joint Resolution 17, a similar piece of legislation. In 2021, two bills, HB2070 and HJR97, both sponsored by representative Dan Huberty, proposed constitutional amendments to legalise sports betting but did not receive a vote in either the Texas House or Senate.
