{"id":257877,"date":"2023-02-04T07:04:23","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T13:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=257877"},"modified":"2023-02-06T12:23:39","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T18:23:39","slug":"texas-republican-legislator-introduces-bill-enabling-casinos-sports-gambling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-republican-legislator-introduces-bill-enabling-casinos-sports-gambling\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Republican Legislator Introduces Bill Enabling Casinos, Sports Gambling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would pave the way for limited gaming properties in the Lone Star State. The legislation would also allow for sports wagering.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_257878\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-257878\" data-style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-257878\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Charlie_Geren_BD_TT-142x95.jpg\" alt=\"Texas State Rep. Charlie Geren\" width=\"1200\" height=\"805\" \/><figcaption  id=\"caption-attachment-257878\"class=\"text-description\">Texas State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, pictured above. He has introduced a bill to pave the way for limited casinos and sports betting in the state. (Image: <em>Texas Tribune<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) filed the proposal on Friday. The bill is known as <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/TX\/bill\/HJR97\/2023?utm_campaign=rss&amp;guid=6NMavmNeiF8USoEBovUK5e\">House Joint Resolution 97<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>Geren\u2019s bill would allow for as many as seven destination casinos. They are called \u201cdestination resorts\u201d in the legislation. They include two casinos in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston regions, as well as one each in the Corpus Christi, McAllen, and San Antonio regions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The locations were selected because they are areas that promise the \u201cgreatest positive economic impact from destination resort development,\u201d according to the bill.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed locations would also serve as \u201ctourism amenities and facilities, including hotels, restaurants, meeting facilities, attractions, entertainment facilities, and shopping centers,\u201d according to the bill.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The legislation would also allow some of the state\u2019s race tracks to use existing pari-mutuel licenses so they could open destination casinos. Under the legislation, the tax on gross gaming revenue at the casinos would be 15%.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many Democrats traditionally have backed opening destination casinos. Three months ago, Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-casinos-gets-growing-legislative-support-despite-historic-opposition\/\">Carol Alvarado<\/a> (D-Houston) filed a bill similar to Geren\u2019s in the Senate.<\/p>\n<h2>Increased Republican Support<\/h2>\n<p>Geren\u2019s legislation apparently demonstrates the increasing support among some Republicans to approve limited gambling.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>Last month, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) backed limited \u201cdestination\u201d casinos in the state. These properties would include hotels, golf courses, and entertainment halls. Fellow Republican Gov. Greg Abbott also softened his stand on casinos last year. Now, he says is open to considering them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Hundreds of pro-gambling lobbyists are working on the issue in Texas. Las Vegas Sands is a key player. The casino company alone employed 74 lobbyists in Texas in December.<\/p>\n<p>Two-thirds of both the House and Senate would need to back a gambling bill before it is sent to the state\u2019s voters in November for final approval. If the voters support the referendum, the state\u2019s constitution would be amended.<\/p>\n<h2>Dan Patrick\u2019s Role<\/h2>\n<p>But so far, Lt. Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-gambling-future-likely-up-to-lt-gov-dan-patrick-as-legislature-begins-session\/\">Dan Patrick<\/a> (R), who presides over the Senate, has yet to show he would back casino-enabling legislation.<\/p>\n<p>In December, Patrick said he doesn\u2019t \u201csee any movement\u201d on the gambling issue, <em>KXAN<\/em>, a Houston TV station, reported.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p>Dan Patrick, whose strong control over the Texas Senate provides him with the power to determine the fate of any casino gambling legislation, which will only pass if he explicitly, or at least implicitly, supports it,\u201d Rice University professor Mark P. Jones recently told <em>Casino.org<\/em>. Patrick may acquiesce given the growing support for limited casinos, Jones added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Yet, past efforts at approving casinos in Texas failed in the legislature. Many opponents rejected gambling on moral grounds.<\/p>\n<h2>Public Wants Casino Vote<\/h2>\n<p>But Geren said an overwhelming number of Texans now support a statewide vote on casinos.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPolling over the last year makes it clear that more than 85% of Texans want the right to vote on this issue, Republicans and Democrats alike,\u201d Geren was quoted by the <em>Dallas Morning News<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some 75% of Texas residents surveyed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-survey-shows-overwhelming-support-for-casinos-expanded-gambling-in-the-state\/\">University of Houston<\/a> in January backed Alvarado\u2019s bill.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Some 69% of born-again Christians who participated in last month\u2019s survey support the passage of Alvarado\u2019s casino bill, and 61% of Evangelical Protestants questioned support its passage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would pave the way for limited gaming properties in the Lone Star State. The legislation would also allow for sports wagering. State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) filed the proposal on Friday. The bill is known as House Joint Resolution 97. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":257878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,13],"tags":[84342,81899,82459],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Texas Legislator Introduces Bill Enabling Casinos, Sports Gambling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Texas House member introduced a bill to pave the way for limited gambling in the Lone Star State. Sports wagering would be allowed, too.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Texas Legislator Introduces Bill Enabling Casinos, Sports Gambling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Texas House member introduced a bill to pave the way for limited gambling in the Lone Star State. Sports wagering would be allowed, too.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-republican-legislator-introduces-bill-enabling-casinos-sports-gambling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-04T13:04:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-06T18:23:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Charlie_Geren_BD_TT.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"570\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-republican-legislator-introduces-bill-enabling-casinos-sports-gambling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-republican-legislator-introduces-bill-enabling-casinos-sports-gambling\/\",\"name\":\"Texas Legislator Introduces Bill Enabling Casinos, Sports Gambling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-republican-legislator-introduces-bill-enabling-casinos-sports-gambling\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-republican-legislator-introduces-bill-enabling-casinos-sports-gambling\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Charlie_Geren_BD_TT.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-04T13:04:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-06T18:23:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"A Texas House member introduced a bill to pave the way for limited gambling in the Lone Star State. 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Ed is an award-winning journalist with credits ranging from the Associated Press to American Lawyer Media. Ed joined the Casino.org news team in 2019 after decades of experience in legal reporting. His past reporting and editing assignments include Cowles Business Media, Columbia University Press, the Connecticut Post, and Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Besides the law and its application to the gaming industry, Ed\u2019s areas of expertise span business, politics, education, and state and local government. Ed holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and master\u2019s degrees from Harvard and Yale. His professional awards include recognition from the New England Press Association and New England AP News Executives. Ed currently resides in Connecticut, where he enjoys photography and bowling in his spare time. Contact Ed at ed.silverstein@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/ed-silverstein\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgedsilv\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/ed-silverstein\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Texas Legislator Introduces Bill Enabling Casinos, Sports Gambling","description":"A Texas House member introduced a bill to pave the way for limited gambling in the Lone Star State. Sports wagering would be allowed, too.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Texas Legislator Introduces Bill Enabling Casinos, Sports Gambling","og_description":"A Texas House member introduced a bill to pave the way for limited gambling in the Lone Star State. 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Ed is an award-winning journalist with credits ranging from the Associated Press to American Lawyer Media. Ed joined the Casino.org news team in 2019 after decades of experience in legal reporting. His past reporting and editing assignments include Cowles Business Media, Columbia University Press, the Connecticut Post, and Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Besides the law and its application to the gaming industry, Ed\u2019s areas of expertise span business, politics, education, and state and local government. Ed holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and master\u2019s degrees from Harvard and Yale. His professional awards include recognition from the New England Press Association and New England AP News Executives. Ed currently resides in Connecticut, where he enjoys photography and bowling in his spare time. 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