Texas gambling expansion faced an uphill battle coming into the 2025 legislative session, but the recent controversies surrounding lottery couriers and the Texas Lottery Commission have only made that climb steeper.
Instead of working on legalization of casino resorts and sports betting, Texas lawmakers have been focused on getting the state lottery under control. Following a critical report by the Sunset Advisory Commission and a change of leadership at the Lottery Commission, the legislature has moved to ban couriers from the state.
Now, a lawsuit against the Commission and its former executive director has brought even more negative attention to the situation. In light of that, experts see gambling expansion in Texas as getting further and further away.
Mark Jones, a political scientist and pollster at Rice University, told The Dallas Morning News that the recent issues with the TLC is killing any hopes for further gambling expansion in the state.
“The Lottery Commission mess is likely the final nail in the coffin for gambling legislation in 2025. It raises serious concerns about the ability of the state to regulate the far more lucrative industries of casino gambling and online sports betting.”
Lawsuit, jackpots force courier ban
The Texas Lottery and courier services have dominated the headlines in the state over the last few weeks.
While lawmakers have been pressuring the TLC to act on couriers for years, things took a decisive turn.
A lawsuit accusing the TLC and former director Gary Grief of fraud stemming from their work with courier services was followed by a Jackpocket customer taking home an $83.5 million Texas Lotto jackpot.
Following the win, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick visited the home of the retail location that sold the winning ticket, Winner’s Circle. After discovering the location was owned by the courier, he called on the TLC to act or he would seek to shut down the lottery altogether.
That led to Texas Lottery Commission Clark Smith to step down and for the TLC to call for an outright ban of couriers.
That decision was supported by lawmakers, as the Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill last week to create criminal offense for lottery games to be played or facilitated for play by telephone or through an internet or mobile application. SB 28 was sponsored by 23 bipartisan lawmakers and is now in the Texas House.
TLC turmoil casts doubt over ability to regulate
Previous bills that were introduced into Texas legislature called on the TLC to be the ones to regulate sports betting.
Given the current circumstances, it’s easy to understand why state lawmakers would be quick to give the commission further responsibilities.
During a recent Senate Finance Committee meeting that saw lawmakers grill Texas Lottery officials over their approach to couriers, Sen. Carol Alvarado made light of the impact the TLC was having on other potential gambling expansion.
“Boy, y’all are sure muddying the waters for some of us who try to expand gaming in this state.”
Even Rep. Matthew Shaheen recently introduced HB 2918, which would abolish the state lottery entirely. The bill calls for annual funding provided by the lottery, around $2 billion, to come from other avenues through the state budget.
Patrick says GOP support for gambling is lacking
Even before this latest courier development, Patrick had stated that legal gambling wasn’t an issue that would receive support from Senate Republicans.
In November, Patrick stated there wasn’t enough GOP support in the Senate to give casino gambling and sports betting much time or thought during the legislative session.
With his push against the lottery, it’s hard to see that changing anytime soon.
Fellow Republican lawmaker, Rep. Brian Harrison, told The Dallas Morning News that opening the gambling window in Texas is a crazy idea right now.
“The idea that we make the state of Texas the biggest bookie in the state is fantastical and absurd.”
With the 2025 legislative session already two months in of its six-month period, don’t expect any sudden change in the feelings toward expanding gambling in Texas.
