HJR 134 appears to call only for retail sports betting, although it does not explicitly prohibit digital wagering. It would allow for professional sports teams, PGA Tour stops and Class I racetracks to become licensed. The proposal requires that any potential licensees be in existence as of 1 January 2025. Licensees would be able to work with management service providers to operate sportsbooks.
There is no framework in the constitutional amendment and the language is vague:
The constitutional amendment authorising the legislature to legalise wagering in this state on certain sporting events.
Other state legislatures, including Louisiana and Maryland, have gone down similar pathways. Should voters approve in Texas as they did in those states, the legislature would then be tasked with developing a framework for legal betting. Included in that would be determining if digital betting is part of the package. Voters in Louisiana and Maryland legalised in 2020 and brick-and-mortar sportsbooks opened in 2021 in both states. Digital platforms went live in 2022.
For Texans, a November 2025 approval would still mean that placing a bet is more than a year away. The state legislature meets only in odd-numbered years.
Exactly what entities could get licensed?
How many licences would be available isn’t clear from the proposal. The proposal specifies “a sports team as defined by general law”. Lawmakers in other states have specified exactly what they mean, including naming teams. Texas has 13 professional sports teams. Seven of those teams are from the major four US sports leagues.
Of the remaining six, one is the WNBA Dallas Wings and five are soccer teams. Texas has three MLS teams, one women’s USL Super League team (Dallas Trinity) and one National Women’s Soccer team (Houston Dynamos). WNBA teams have been approved to get licensed in most jurisdictions that allow sports teams to get wagering licences. But teams from the MLS and women’s pro soccer leagues have not been included in every US jurisdiction.
There are four PGA Tour stops in Texas. The Texas Racing Commission lists four horse racetracks in the state. NASCAR does not appear in the proposal.
Roadblock still exists
Texas lawmakers have been entertaining gambling legislation for the last two sessions. In 2023, a similar constitutional amendment passed the house, but stalled in the senate. That one did include auto-racing venues and earmarked 98% of tax revenue for property tax relief.
Despite Herculean lobbying efforts by Las Vegas Sands and other gambling entities, polls that show Texans favour legal gambling and governor Greg Abbott saying he doesn’t “have a problem with online sports betting”. Prospects for passage are muddy.
Republican lieutenant governor Dan Patrick is also the president pro tem of the senate. He has consistently said that he will not call any gambling bills for a vote unless there is Republican support.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sports-betting/texas-sports-betting-constitutional-amendment-2025/
