Legislation intended to bring legal sports betting to the Lone Star State is crawling forward in the Texas House of Representatives.
The committee report for House Bill 1942, which would authorize online sports betting sites, was sent to the House Committee on Calendars on Monday, a procedural step that could allow the full legislative chamber to consider the measure.
H.B. 1942 received a public hearing in March and was reported favorably by the House’s state affairs committee without any amendments earlier this month. The House could now vote yes or no on the legislation, which would enable Texas sports betting through mobile bookmakers.
"The bill is in a good spot,” Rep. Jeff Leach, H.B. 1942’s primary sponsor, recently told local media. “We're building support every single day from legislators here and from Texans across the state. I think we're going to be able to… get it across the finish line in the House.”
Clock's ticking
However, even if the online sports betting measure were to pass the Texas House, it will surely face headwinds in the Texas Senate. The latter chamber is presided over by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is lukewarm, at best, about legalizing event wagering.
So there is no guarantee any sports-betting bill passes during this legislative session, which runs until the end of May. That could leave Texas without legal event wagering options until 2025 or later.
But sports betting has some influential friends in Texas, including professional sports teams pushing for a bill to get passed. Those teams recently mounted another effort to get the Texas Legislature to approve wagering legislation before the clock runs out on the session.
