Texas sports betting bill dead in water as migrant crisis moves ahead
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick rules out passage of HB 1942 in tweet despite House support for legislation
Hopes for legalized sports betting in Texas by the end of 2023 have effectively been quashed after Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick indicated he would veto legislation legalizing the vertical.
Over the weekend, Patrick took to Twitter to voice his disapproval for House bill 1942, which had previously received support from House legislators in votes on Thursday, suggesting there was no support from Texas’ Republican Party for its passage.
The Lieutenant Governor serves as president of the Senate in Texas, allowing him to veto legislation, a power he will now seemingly exercise, ending HB 1942 and a separate House joint resolution 102, which would have seen a statewide vote on sports betting.
HB 1942 is a mobile-only sports betting bill, which would see operators pay an application fee of $500,000 with a tax rate of 10% on operators’ adjusted gross revenue from sports betting in the state, a rate that was later amended to 15% during deliberations in the House.
HJR 102 allows Texas-based sports franchises to operate sportsbooks, with each franchise able to apply for one online sports betting license and partner with one online sports betting operator.
Both pieces of legislation had been extensively backed by the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, an advocacy group which counts online sportsbook operators and local sports teams among its membership.
Several advocates have previously spoken out in favor of sports betting legalization in the Lone Star State, including ex-Texas Governor Rick Perry and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Texas’ regular legislative session ends on May 29, leaving little time for any subsequent push, with much of the state’s remaining business-focused on dealing with a new rush of illegal migrants from its southern border with Mexico.
On May 12, the US officially ended its policy known as Title 42, under which, migrants seeking asylum in the US could be immediately deported without receiving an asylum hearing in the US.
The policy was instituted as part of the US Government’s response to Covid-19, the threat of which has since receded as the global vaccination program has reduced the danger of the pandemic.
The earliest for sports betting to be resurrected in the Lone Star State is 2025.