TLDR Texas Rep. Charlie Geren filed House Joint Resolution 52 to let voters decide on casinos and sports betting. The resolution would cap casinos at 10 locations and limit the gaming tax to 15%. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who vowed to block gambling bills, lost his race to Democrat Vikki Goodwin. The measure needs two-thirds support in both the Texas House and Senate to reach the ballot. Geren proposes a statewide vote on Nov. 2, 2027.
The person who controls the Texas Senate floor is about to change, and a new gambling proposal is already waiting. State Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican from Fort Worth, has filed House Joint Resolution 52 for the 2027 legislative session.
The resolution is a proposed constitutional amendment. It would ask voters whether the Legislature should have the power to legalize and regulate casino gaming and sports wagering.
Geren filed the measure less than a week after the midterm elections. Democrats won the races for governor and lieutenant governor and also flipped the state House.
A Change at the Senate Gate
In Texas, the lieutenant governor serves as president of the state Senate. That role gives the officeholder strong control over which bills move forward in the chamber.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, said for years that he would kill any proposal to authorize new forms of gambling. “It’s not even an issue that’s going to see the light of day,” Patrick said in 2023.
Patrick, a three-term incumbent, lost his race last week to Democrat Vikki Goodwin. Goodwin told Casino.org that she is not personally a gambler, but she believes Texans should be allowed to decide.
“We need to listen to the voters of Texas,” Goodwin told Casino.org. She added that on some issues, most Texans feel one way while