Lt. Governor Dan Patrick Says Legalized Texas Sports Betting Has Zero Chance

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Comments

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick absolutely crushed the hopes and dreams of many sports betting fans who are looking for the state to legalize in 2021. In quotes provided on a radio show on KFYO-Texas, the Lt. Governor said that he does not believe sports betting will see the light of day.

On top of this quote, he went on to talk about how he is not a fan of sports betting. He believes that the revenue it would bring in is not really significant and that since the Republicans have control of the Senate, there is no chance of it getting through.

It seems that Patrick even alluded to the Lottery as being a bad idea since it only pays for a few days’ worths of the budget a year. Patrick wants to focus on things that bring tourism and jobs into the state.

What is Going on With Texas Sports Betting?

Currently, there are two bills, one in the House that was introduced by Representative Harold Dutton and one in the Senate that was introduced by Senator Roland Guitierrez. These two bills are shooting for a legalization process similar to Tennessee’s, one of the more heavily regulated sports betting set of rules we have seen. However, the crucial bit for Tennessee and any sports betting bill for Texas is mobile betting.

As recently as the start of this week, there was new news, as the major sports franchises in the state, like the Cowboys, Mavericks, and Rangers, came out in full support of sports betting and wagering.

In Texas, it would take a constitutional amendment to allow sports betting. This means that a supermajority in the Senate is needed to get the bill passed. While the Democrats are in full support, they are currently outnumbered 18-13 in the Senate Chamber of Texas.

Making Sense of Lt. Gov’s Comments

While it is true that if sports betting were to be legalized, it would only be a small percentage of the overall education budget, it is still a net revenue. It is rather confusing to hear the Lt. Governor’s comments basically saying that it is not enough revenue to legalize. The argument would have to be that the cons outweigh the pros; however, he fails to bring up those cons.

Giving adults the ability to choose to bet also has to count for something. Adults should have the right to be able to wager legally and not put themselves in harm’s way with offshore sportsbooks. This is something that is often brought up by legislatures. Offering legalized gambling gives residents the ability to have a legal and safe option to do something that is already popular anyway.

One con that might come up is gambling addiction and the resources that will need to go towards helping that if sports betting is legalized. The issue is that gambling addiction exists with or without legalized gambling. Legalization simply gives the states the resources to actually treat it and acknowledge it. On top of this, again, the state would still make a massive net revenue even when considering the cost of supporting those with addiction issues.