The bill states: “Consistent with a 2018 United States Supreme Court decision authorizing states to exercise their lawful prerogative to license and regulate sports wagering activity, it is in the interest of this state to authorize a strict regulatory model for sports wagering; a legal, regulated sports wagering market will help to deter unlawful sports wagering and provide for more regulatory and law enforcement oversight over sports wagering while generating state revenue.”

“Any sports wagering enforcement and regulatory structure must begin from the bedrock premise that participation in a lawful and licensed sports wagering industry is a privilege and not a right and that strict regulatory oversight is intended to safeguard the integrity of wagering on sporting events and to ensure accountability and the public trust.”

“The most expeditious way to legalize sports wagering in this state and to strictly regulate this activity is to utilize the resources of the Texas Lottery Commission; and sports wagering within this state will be vested in operators acting under the authority of state law and will promote trust and integrity in all sports wagering operations.”

The bill defines sports wagering as “a bet placed on sporting events or portions of sporting events, or on the individual performance statistics of athletes in a sporting event or combination of sporting events. The term includes single-game wagers, teaser wagers, parlays, over-unders, moneylines, pools, exchange wagering, in-game wagering, in-play wagers, proposition wagers, and straight wagers.”

Owners of the Rockets and Texans backed the proposal.

“The Houston Texans support giving Texans the opportunity to choose for themselves if they want a regulated and taxed sports betting industry in Texas,” said Cal McNair, Houston Texas. “We think a legal and regulated betting industry is best for our fans and partners and would protect the integrity of competition.”

“Sports betting is a very popular form of entertainment,” said Tilman Fertitta, Houston Rockets owner. “Sports fans enjoy placing bets on their favorite sports because it brings them closer to the team and puts them in the game. No one wins with an illegal market as robust as the one in Texas, and I applaud Senator Kolkhorst and Representative Leach for recognizing the need to address the illegal market in Texas.”

By Joe Mattia