A bill to legalize Texas online sports betting has been reported favorably to a House committee and is one step away from being advanced to the full House of Representatives for a potential vote.

Yesterday, Rep. Jeff Leach’s (R-67)  bill, HB 1942, was reported to the House Committee on Calendars. The bill seeks to legalize Texas online sports betting through a constitutional amendment.

House approval a possibility

The House State Affairs Committee approved Leach’s bill in early April by a vote of 9-3. If approved by the House Committee on Calendars, the legislation will then head to the House for a possible vote.

Leach’s online sports betting bill is supported by the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, which is comprised of Texas professional sports franchises, sports leagues, race tracks, and sports betting platforms. The proposed laws will allow for the legalization of online sports betting through Texas professional sports teams. If approved, WNBA, MLS, MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL franchises in the state will be eligible for online sports betting licenses.

Leach’s bill sets the online sports betting tax rate at 10% of adjusted gross sports betting revenue and each license will cost $500,000.

According to Fox 7 Austin, Leach is positive that his bill can reach the finish line in the House.

“The bill is in a good spot. We’re building support every single day from legislators here and from Texans across the state. I think we’re going to be able to get it up, get it across the finish line in the House,” the lawmaker said.

The Senate, however, is a different animal and the bill faces a much greatest test in the chamber.

Sine die for the 2023 Texas legislative session is May 29.

Approval in the Senate still unlikely

Despite positivity in the House, Senate approval remains unlikely. Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick (R) has long been an opponent of legalized sports betting and doubts there is enough traction in the Senate for any sports betting bill to be approved this legislative session.

Patrick recently appeared on 660 AM’s Mark Davis Show and said from the first day of the legislative session there was no support for either sports betting or expanded gaming.

“From day one, and this goes back to November we meet before we go in for a caucus meeting, the republicans, and we talk about all the issues. We had zero support from casino gambling or sports betting. When I say zero support, there wasn’t anyone who was interested. It doesn’t mean there was not one, or two, or three who would vote for it. We had a sports bill filed, we had not had a casino bill filed,” he said on the show.

Patrick said there are currently no votes in the Senate for a casino bill or a sports betting bill. Unless 15 or 16 Republican Senators are in favor of the bill, Patrick said he will not bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote.

“I need to have consensus by the Republicans, otherwise it’s a bill that the Democrats are passing. We don’t do that in the Senate,” he said.