Residents of the Lone Star State that like to place bets on games will likely have to continue to utilize offshore books. Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is not optimistic that the state will legalize sports gambling anytime soon.
He said that he is not even going to bring a bill to the State Senate floor if he does not know for sure that his party will support it.
“Unless I have 15 to 16 Republicans, meaning it’s a Republican-driven bill because we’re a Republican-driven state, I’m not bringing a bill to the floor,” he told KXAN in Austin. “I need Republican consensus otherwise, it’s a Democrat bill.”
Republicans in the State House voted to advance bills that would legalize mobile betting in the state. The effort is backed by a coalition of sportsbooks and professional teams in Texas. Still, Patrick doesn’t see the Senate getting on board.
“Our members have been clear: they’re not in support today. We don’t have any votes in the Senate.”
It may be a political issue for Patrick, but sports gambling has support amongst Texans. According to Texas Sports Betting Alliance, GeoComply, a technology that identifies users where sports betting is illegal, blocked more than 73,000 betting attempts from Texas during the opening week of March Madness.
