The warning comes as gaming interests have been feeling some momentum in their push for lawmakers to allow online sports betting and casinos.
A major player in Republican politics is warning about the potential social damage of expanded gambling in Texas as casino companies are building up an army of lobbyists in Austin before the start of next week’s Legislature session.
The study, released this week by the influential Texas Public Policy Foundation, warns that while expanded casino gambling would result in a new source of tax revenue, it would increase social problems, such as gambling addiction, mental illness and crime. READ MORE: Mattress Mack doubts legalization of sports betting in Texas “Naturally, individuals with a predisposition to ‘problem gambling’ present a difficult policy question for lawmakers to navigate: what is the tolerable amount of human suffering to top off public coffers?” TPPF’s Chief Research Officer Derek M. Cohen said. The warning comes as gaming interests have been feeling some momentum in their push for lawmakers to allow online sports betting and casinos. While the Texas Constitution specifically bars expanded gambling, the industry found renewed hope in Texas in 2022 when Abbott said he was open to it. The Texas House voted on an expanded gambling bill the next year, but it fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to change the Constitution. And that still leaves the biggest hurdle, the Texas Senate, where Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the chamber, has said there aren't enough votes to pass it. That hasn’t stopped state Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, from filing legislation this session to open the state to casinos and sports betting. Under her proposals, up to two destination casino resorts would be allowed in Dallas and Houston, while San Antonio, Corpus Christi and the region around McAllen would be allowed to have one each. Key casino operators already have deep ties in Texas and GOP politics. Galveston native Tilman Fertitta, whose Landry’s Inc. runs Golden Nugget casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Lousiana, has been one of Abbott’s most important donors over the years. He gave more than $1 million to Abbott’s 2022 reelection and let Abbott use his private plane to fly around the state. Already, Fertitta has contributed $450,000 to Abbott’s 2026 reelection. President-elect Donald Trump has announced he is nominating Fertitta to be the U.S. ambassador to Italy. Las Vegas Sands majority owner Miriam Adelson has also become a major donor to Abbott and other Texas Republicans. She and her late husband Sheldon Adelson donated $1.5 million to Abbott’s reelection campaign in 2022. Last year, the Las Vegas Sands bought controlling interests in the Dallas Mavericks and have created a political action committee in Texas to promote casino legislation. Despite failing in 2023, gambling interests have been getting more aggressive in lobbying for casinos and sports betting in Texas. State records show that the Las Vegas Sands has 103 lobbyists registered to work for it in Austin. That’s up from the 74 it had in 2022 and the 19 it had four years ago. The Sands is hardly alone in building up their ranks in the Texas lobbying corps. The recently created Sports Betting Alliance, BetMGM, Caesar’s, Boyd Gaming and Landry’s Entertainment are among those contributing to the nearly 350 lobbyists in Texas who are registered to work on gambling issues — a 40% increase in just four years. Former Gov. Rick Perry is among those now working with the Sports Betting Alliance to allow at least sports betting. He’s made the case that millions of Texans are already participating in sports betting by either using offshore sites or going out of state. He said legalizing sports betting would bring revenues back to Texas and protect consumers. The TPPF report acknowledges that Texas would benefit financially from casinos. They estimated a deal with casino operators could bring $800 million a year for state and local governments. But Cohen specifically points to the experience in Ohio, where he said studies showed that the number of problem gamblers rose dramatically in the 10 years after that state allowed casinos. “There is no denying that expanding casino gambling is associated with an increase in state and local tax revenues,” his report states. “However, this new tax revenue is offset by correlated negative phenomena like gambling addiction and crime.” TPPF has a history of being influential with Republican lawmakers in Texas. National gaming interests say the report mischaracterizes gambling impacts. Dave Forman, head of research for the American Gaming Association, said other reports show that despite a proliferation of gaming options over the last few decades, problem gambling remains steady at about 1 to 2% of the population. He pointed to a University of Massachusetts Amherst report released last fall that showed that legalizing casinos in Massachusetts did not lead to a significant rise in problem gambling. Texas has unique hurdles to expanded gambling. The Texas Constitution prohibits expanded gambling, meaning the Legislature would need to put the issue to a vote of the public. But to do that, they need a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House to get a bill passed. That means getting 21 votes out of the 31-member Senate. If all the Democrats in the Senate convinced a few Republicans to join them they could pass that bill. But Patrick has said he would only allow the measure to move forward if a majority of Republicans in the Senate are on board. The Republican Party of Texas has also come out against expanded gambling — specifically casinos — in their official platform. Violating that platform could result in public censures and the party campaigning against members who vote for casinos. The Texas Legislature meets once every two years in a regular session that lasts 140 days. Tuesday is the first day of the session, and it ends on June 2. Republicans hold majorities in both the House and the Senate.
Texas Constitution Texas Senate Las Vegas Sands Texas House GOP Texas Public Policy Foundation Republican Party Of Texas Boyd Gaming Sports Betting Alliance Dallas Mavericks House American Gaming Association University Of Massachusetts Amherst Dan Patrick Tilman Fertitta Abbott Derek M. Cohen Miriam Adelson Rick Perry Carol Alvarado Mattress Mack Dave Forman Donald Trump Sheldon Adelson Texans D Caesar Democrats Texas Sands Austin Houston Ohio Las Vegas Dallas U.S. Italy San Antonio Mcallen Corpus Christi Lousiana Atlantic City Golden Nugget Landry's Inc. Galveston Massachusetts Betmgm Constitution
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