Two Texas sports betting bills have been passed through the House State Affairs Committee, but odds that either bill eventually cross the finish line are slimmer than the Houston Texans chances at a Super Bowl championship next season.

The House State Affairs Committee approved bills from Rep. Jeff Leach (R-67), HB 1942 and HJR 102, which seek to legalize Texas online sports betting through a constitutional amendment, and HJR 155 from Rep. Charlie Geren (R-99) and its enabling legislation HB 2843 from Rep. John Kuempel (R-44), which seek to allow “destination resort” casinos in the state and legalize sports betting.

Both were approved 9-3 by the committee members. The committee previously held lengthy hearings on the bills in late March.

Two different bills to legalize sports betting

The bills now head to the House Calendars committee. If approved, the legislation will then head to the House for a possible vote.

However, odds are stacked against the legislation’s approval, as each bill seeks a constitutional amendment for legalization, which requires a two-thirds majority in both Texas legislative chambers and approval by state voters in the Nov. 7 general election.

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.

Geren’s legislation would legalize sports betting, allow for “destination resorts” and casino gaming in major metropolitan areas of Texas, and attempt to revitalize the state’s horse racing and greyhound industry. The law calls for the creation of the Texas Gaming Commission to oversee legalized gaming.

If approved by voters in November, the bill would allow for up to two destination resorts and casino gaming in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Area, two resorts in the Houston-Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area, one resort in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area, one in the Corpus Christi metropolitan area, one in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area, and then one additional resort in an area to be determine at a later time.

The bill also calls for a portion of casino gaming revenues to be used as horse racing purse money to promote its growth and sustainability in the state.

The legislation imposes a 15% tax on gross casino gaming revenue. It does not specify a sports betting tax.

Lt. Governor not bullish on sports betting or gaming

The discussions could be all for naught, as there may not be enough support in either the Texas House or Senate to move the sports betting bills through.

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.