The Approval of Texas Gambling Laws Remains Uncertain with Dan Patrick Hanging Onto the Reigns The Outcome of Texas' Gambling Regulations is Uncertain While Dan Patrick Remains the Authority
It seems that resort casinos may not be making their way into Texas anytime soon, as Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick holds the key to whether the state Senate will seriously consider the proposal. According to political experts, if Dan Patrick doesn't support the legislation, it won't pass. University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus points out that Patrick "effectively controls the Senate and has an increased influence in the House after the primary elections." Rice University professor Mark P. Jones agrees, adding that Patrick is "skeptical" about the economic benefits of destination resort casinos outweighing the societal costs, such as increased bankruptcy, job absenteeism, domestic abuse, and other crimes.
Unless Patrick believes the economic benefits of casinos outweigh the social costs, he doesn't plan on pushing Republican senators to vote in favor of destination resort casino legislation. Based on his public statements, he won't bring the bill to the floor unless at least 10 of the 19 Republican senators (11 of 20 in 2025 if Republican Adam Hinojosa defeats Democrat Morgan LaMantia in Senate District 27) support it. Rottinghaus believes that in order for gambling legislation to pass in the legislature, there needs to be bipartisan support, led by the Senate Republicans. In today's highly polarized political climate, this is a challenging feat.
In addition, Patrick has stated that a resort casino bill will need more Republican than Democratic support in the Senate. With Republicans currently outnumbering Democrats in the Senate by 19-12, it's difficult to think that there won't be many Republicans who would back the legislation without Patrick's support.
Letting the Senate Take the Lead
For the upcoming session, the House plans to let the Senate take the lead on any gambling expansion proposal. In 2023, the House wasted energy and political capital when, no matter what happened in the House, the Senate was determined to block casino legislation, so this time the House is stepping back and letting the Texas Senate take control.
In 2023, House Republicans attempted to push the legislation through, leading to the anger of the small, but fervent group of Republican primary voters who are opposed to casinos. As a result, the Senate's steadfast opposition prevented them from getting the final six votes needed to pass the casino bill in the House.
Political Contributions
Despite the challenges, political pressure persists for casino expansion. Casino supporters, such as Miriam Adelson (the largest owner of Las Vegas Sands stock and a Republican megadonor), continue to spend tens of millions of dollars each year to support Texas gambling proposals. Adelson donated over $10M this year alone, including to the Texas Defense PAC, which has supported several candidates in the primaries. However, these donations are a mere drop in the bucket compared to the potential hundreds of millions of dollars that companies like Sands Corporation could make annually if they're allowed to run massive destination resort casinos in Texas, a state with two leading metro areas (Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston) that each have more residents than the majority of states.
