The House is seen as more supportive than the Senate regarding approving casinos and sports betting. The Texas Tribune reported that House Bill 2843, authored by Rep. John Kuempel (R-Seguin), would allow casino gambling. House Bill 1942, written by Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), would permit legal sports betting.<\/p>\n
The House State Affairs Committee held a hearing on Wednesday on expanded gambling.<\/p>\n
During the hearing, Leach claimed illegal sports betting is widespread in Texas. But because it\u2019s illegal, it can\u2019t be taxed or regulated.<\/p>\n
There are hundreds of our constituents, citizens of all ages, including minors, who right now, especially with March Madness, are placing unsafe, unsecure, illegal, criminal bets very easily,\u201d<\/strong> Leach said, the Tribune <\/em>reported.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe Sports Betting Alliance estimates that more than $6 billion is wagered already by Texans on sports.<\/p>\n
Other proponents at Wednesday\u2019s hearing included officials representing the Dallas Cowboys, the Houston Astros, the San Antonio Spurs, and the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n
Under a current proposal, Texas would put a 10% tax on adjusted gross wagering revenue.<\/p>\n
Eric Schippers, a lobbyist for Penn Entertainment, told legislators the American Gaming Association estimates that illegal sports wagering leads states to lose some $700 million in taxes each year.<\/p>\n
Also appearing at this week\u2019s hearing were opponents to gambling expansion. Jonathan Covey, policy director for Texas Values, warned gambling can lead to family violence and other problems. Another opponent, Cindi Castilla of Texas Eagle Forum, stressed that gambling can be addictive and result in families not having enough money for staples like food.<\/p>\n
Lobbyists Working Hard<\/h2>\n The casino sector, including Las Vegas Sands<\/a> (LVS), is working hard to see commercial gaming properties in Texas.<\/p>\nThere are more than 300 lobbyists now working in the state to represent the gambling sector, the Chronicle<\/em> reported. LVS alone has 69 lobbyists active in Texas.<\/strong><\/p>\nLVS\u2019 political action committee recently contributed to the campaigns of leading Republicans. Phelan received $300K, Patrick $225K, and Abbott $200K. Other legislators also received contributions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Legislation to pave the way for casinos and sports wagering in Texas currently doesn\u2019t have the required votes to pass in the state Senate, says a powerful Lone Star State politician. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) told Lubbock, Texas radio station KFYO on Thursday, \u201cWe don\u2019t have the votes in the Senate as we sit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":266025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,61],"tags":[13598,84342,84343,81899,80968,82459],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Texas Gambling Bills May Lack GOP Votes Needed for Passage<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n