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Texas Sports Betting Bill Laws & Regulations

Texas Sports Betting Bill Put on Hold Until 2025

By Lisa Spencer Senior Editor Updated: 10 June 2023

Lisa Spencer Senior Editor

As a Senior Editor at Betting.US, Lisa Spencer is a valuable member of our expert team. With a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, Lisa is adept in gambling theory and analyzing odds. She contributes by writing online sportsbook reviews and finding competitive markets to help our readers make an informed choice.

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It has been revealed that sports betting in Texas will not be legalized this year, which will come as a huge disappointment to large numbers of sports fans as well as sports betting operators.

A betting bill passed the House for the first time in Texas, but the Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick, rejected a proposal for the bill to be put on the ballot. He made his decision just days before the end of the legislative session for 2023.

This now means that the sports betting bill will have to be put on hold until 2025 before it gets another chance, as state legislators only meet every other year.

It will also have an impact on the state, which could have reaped the financial rewards of legalizing sports betting in the same way as many other states across the country. New York, which has a population just two-thirds the size of Texas, made around $693 million through taxation of sportsbooks in 2022.

Date for Public Vote Already Set

One thing that was noted was that a date for a public vote had already been set by proponents of the bill, and this was for November 7th. This was set in the hope that the bill would pass the House and Senate, but Patrick announced his decision earlier this month, dashing the hopes of all those that supported the bill. He said:

Texas is a red state. Yet the House vote on sports betting was carried by a Dem majority. The Texas Senate doesn’t pass bills without GOP in the minority. The GOP majority guides our path. HJR102 also will not be referred.

He then went on to state that he couldn’t waste committee time in the last days of the legislative session.

According to reports, Patrick has been against gambling for years and has maintained his attitude toward this activity. He is said to be viewed as the biggest obstacle when it comes to legalizing sports betting in the Lone Star State.

It is claimed that industry officials had hoped Patrick would have a change of heart, but his views remain the same when it comes to gambling.

A Big Impact on Many

Patrick’s decision to not refer the bill means that there will be a negative impact on many within the state of Texas. Among those who will be negatively affected are the huge numbers of sports fans who were hoping to be able to place bets on their favorite sports and teams if the bill had gone through and sports betting had been legalized.

The decision will come as a huge disappointment to these sports fans, many of whom had been hoping to see sports betting being legalized soon. What’s more, many sports betting operators will also be negatively affected, as it means that they will now be unable to branch out into Texas until at least 2025.

Of course, the state itself will also lose out on a potential fortune in tax revenue from legalized sports betting.