New Texas House Friendly To Sports Betting


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Texas sports betting

Texas sports betting legislation still faces a steep uphill battle, but the new House speaker keeps its path a little more open. 

Rep. Dustin Burrows beat fellow Republican Rep. David Cook in an 85-55 vote Tuesday to become the new Texas Speaker of the House. Burrows replaces Rep. Dade Phelan, who presided over the House in 2023 when an online Texas sports betting bill passed through the lower chamber.

While the House lane appears to have stayed open, the Senate remains a challenge with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick staunchly opposed to gambling legislation.

Texas speaker vote

With Phelan relinquishing his role, Burrows and Cook stepped up to vie for the speakership. While they are both Republicans, it represented sports betting’s first challenge. 

While Burrows voted against both sports betting and casino gambling bills, and Cook voted for both, Burrows’ selection opened up a lane for the bipartisan cooperation needed to pass sports betting. 

The speaker election represents a larger political statement, with Burrows representing establishment Republicans. In his acceptance speech, he pledged to keep the chamber independent and promised to work with every legislature member. 

Republican split an issue for sports betting?

Burrows won the support of 49 Democrats and 36 Republicans. The Burrows win received plenty of criticism from the far right wing of the party, including Patrick, about his reliance on Democrats to win the speakership. 

Leaders of the Republican Party of Texas threatened to censure lawmakers who supported Burrows, according to the Texas Tribune. The party platform is anti-gambling, which is why Patrick has repeatedly said he will not take up sports betting bills in the Senate because they require bipartisan support. 

The Republicans hold a 20-11 advantage in the upper chamber. However, the bipartisanship in the House could potentially lead to more senators diverging from the GOP platform.

Miriam Adelson, the Las Vegas Sands casino magnate and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has poured money into Texas politics, hoping to sway politicians to support gambling issues.

Texas sports betting attempts grow

The industry is focused on Texas, with its estimated $32.1 billion in annual handle, which would make it the largest US sports betting market. 

With chatter of legalization growing louder, Texans continue to attempt to log into sportsbooks in legal markets. 

During the NFL betting season, GeoComply recorded 4.5 million geolocation checks from 333,458 accounts. The account figure was a 55% year-over-year increase compared to the same period the year prior.

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