There are lawmakers in Texas and South Carolina who aren’t afraid to shoot their shot – again – in trying to get sports betting-related bills through the local legislature.
History suggests that the odds may be long for those measures, as previous efforts have fallen short.
Nevertheless, the bills have been filed and the stage is set for the Texas and South Carolina legislatures to at least ponder legal sports betting in their upcoming sittings.
In Texas, Democratic Sen. Carol Alvarado filed Joint Resolution 16 last month. The measure proposes an amendment to the state constitution that would authorize sports betting and casino gaming at "destination resorts."
Whether sports wagering would have to be in-person or could be online as well looks like it would have to be settled by the legislature. The measure defines sports betting as “placing a wager on the outcome of a live sporting event, as defined by general law.”
Pony up
The amendment would allow casinos at seven locations in the state: two in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area, two in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area, one in the San Antonio-New Braunfels area, one in the Corpus Christi area, and one in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area.
Alvarado's measure aims to "reform and support the horse racing industry," and requires all casino licensees to be licensed racetrack associations or a person designated by the tracks. Either way, they must also be prepared to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the new developments, as the legislation has minimum investment requirements.
The resolution also proposes a 15% tax on gross casino gaming revenue – some of which will be used for horse racing purse money – and an undefined sports wagering tax that will be provided by general law.
Cause for qualms
The measure would create the Texas Gaming Commission to oversee those new activities, albeit only if voters in the state approve the proposed constitutional amendment in November 2025.
With all that said, there is reason to doubt Alvarado’s constitutional amendment will get that far. The senator introduced a similar resolution ahead of the Texas legislature's 2023 session, and it made little progress before it died when the session ended.
Furthermore, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said he wouldn’t bring up any gambling legislation for a vote unless it has majority support from the GOP Senate caucus. There will likely be other gambling and sports betting-related bills to consider in the Texas legislature in the upcoming session as well, which may attract more support than Alvarado’s measure.
Some longshot sports betting bills have been filed over the past few weeks in South Carolina and Texas ahead of their legislative sessions. More to come, most likely.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) December 13, 2024
At the very least, though, lawmakers in those states could be pondering legalization in 2025. pic.twitter.com/otclxxClpz
In South Carolina, another legal sports betting holdout, there are at least two pieces of event wagering-related legislation that have been prefiled ahead of the state's 2025 legislative session.
Democratic Rep. Todd Rutherford's House Joint Resolution 3353 proposes to amend the state's constitution to allow the legislature to authorize pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing, sports betting on professional leagues, and casino gambling.
The resolution’s language suggests all of the wagering would be done at brick-and-mortar facilities, rather than online. It states that betting “may be conducted in one location or in separate locations within the specified area, with the revenue realized by the State and local jurisdictions to be used for highway, road, and bridge maintenance, construction, and repair.”
At any rate, the measure would have to pass the legislature first, and then be put to voters at the next general election.
With a little help from my friends
House Bill 3625 was also prefiled this week in the South Carolina legislature, sponsored by a handful of Democratic and Republican lawmakers. The so-called "South Carolina Sports Wagering Act" would legalize online sports betting in the state, and may be less of a longshot given its bipartisan backing.
Even so, the legislation places a cap on the number of online sports betting licenses that could be issued, with eight operators the maximum. Licensees would pay 12.5% of their adjusted revenue to the state, a $100,000 application fee, and a $1-million licensing fee. Among other things, an operator must also show proof they are active in at least five states.
However, as in Texas, previous efforts to pass a sports betting bill have failed in South Carolina. For example, House Bill 3749 was introduced in January 2023 but got nowhere after it was referred to a legislative committee.
South Carolina's legislative session will start on Jan. 14, 2025. The regular session in Texas will begin the same day.
