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Texas has stayed firm on its stance: no legal betting of any kind. That goes for casinos and sports betting apps alike.
If there’s one person responsible for the state’s position more than anyone else, it’s the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. He is the de facto leader of the Senate, and without his support, any bill or even talk about legalizing betting dies right there and there.
Patrick has not shied away from criticizing betting. He’s actually been far more critical of the issue than the one person Patrick answers to — Governor Greg Abbott (who’s actually sort of neutral).
Welp, Patrick is running for re-election this November. And if casino and sports betting in Texas is to happen soon, the chances would skyrocket if he’s defeated come midterms. Right now, he’s in a tight race against someone who’s been much more friendly to legalization. Keep reading, and we’ll tell you how the future of Texas betting might ride on this race!
Lt. Governor Race Is Neck And Neck
So who’s Patrick running against anyway? That person is Democratic State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, an Austin-area lawmaker who has served in the Texas House since 2019. Unlike Patrick, Goodwin has been much more open to expanding betting in Texas.
And despite Patrick having held the job since 2015, the incumbent isn’t running away with re-election. Not even close.
One of the more recent polls, conducted by Texas Pulse and the Texas A&M Bush School, actually had Goodwin ahead of Patrick 48 to 46 percent. Now of course, that’s within the poll’s margin of error, so it would be a stretch to say Goodwin is suddenly favored to win. Nonetheless, it shows she has a real chance to sway things her way in the next two months.
A Texas Southern University poll conducted around the same time had Patrick leading Goodwin 46 to 39 percent. Another poll from the University of Texas earlier this summer also had Patrick ahead by seven points.
So, we don’t exactly have a consensus here. Patrick is still probably the safer bet considering he’s the incumbent, Texas remains a Republican-leaning state, and Goodwin still has a major name-recognition problem (one recent poll found that more than half of voters didn’t know enough about her to even form an opinion).
Still, despite all those advantages we just named, it’s a small miracle that Goodwin is polling this well. But speaking of her, let’s pivot toward how she views betting.
Vikki Goodwin Wants Texans To Make The Call
Goodwin is a polar opposite to Patrick on the issue of gambling. She has said Texans should be allowed to vote on both casinos and online sports betting. To her, it’s about giving Texans personal freedom and responsibility.
Her argument is a familiar one: Texans already gamble. Plenty drive across the state border to bet in Louisiana or Oklahoma. Then there’s a multitude of ways to wager online while in Texas, through offshore sportsbooks and prediction markets alike. If this is the case, which it most certainly is, then why not let voters decide whether they want those options legally available in their own state?
That’s what Goodwin contends. At the same time, she has taken a shot at Patrick’s approach to governing, arguing that he too often acts like he “knows best for Texans,” while she believes voters themselves should get more say over issues like gambling.
Goodwin sure sounds reasonable to us, don’t you think?
Here’s Why The Lieutenant Governor Race Matters So Much
No matter who wins the election, we need to remember that Texas can’t just pass a normal law and bring betting to the state. No, no, legalizing betting would require an amendment to the Texas Constitution, which means two-thirds of both the Texas House and Senate have to approve the proposal first. Only then can it go before voters.
And we already know sports betting can get through the House. In 2023, the House approved a sports betting amendment with 101 votes, barely clearing that two-thirds threshold. But it failed to get anywhere near as much support in the Senate.
That lack of support is directly tied to Patrick’s presence. As lieutenant governor, Patrick has enormous control over what gets brought up in the Senate. He has repeatedly said there isn’t enough Republican support for sports betting and has refused to move legalization forward without it.
A Patrick victory this November would likely mean more of the same. He would remain in charge of the Senate, and unless his position dramatically changes (we doubt it), sports betting and casinos would continue facing the same roadblock they’ve dealt with for years.
A Goodwin victory, though, would flip the equation. The Legislature meets again in 2027, and if the House once again passes a sports betting amendment, Goodwin has already indicated she would be much more willing to let the Senate debate it and potentially send it to voters.
We will just have to wait and see what happens, though. Betting odds still have Patrick winning, but a lot can happen from now until November 3.
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