A group of lawmakers is calling on House leadership to skip all attempts by the gambling lobby to expand gambling in the state of Texas during the 2025 legislative session.
State Rep. Keresa Richardson (R-McKinney) posted a joint letter signed by 14 Republican colleagues urging State Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) to resist pressure from gambling proponents during the 2025 session.
King chairs the House State Affairs Committee, which would likely oversee any gambling-related legislation. The letter, circulated this week, underscores growing opposition among Republican lawmakers to gambling expansion efforts.
This opposition comes at the same time as a spiraling scandal engulfs the Texas Lottery Commission, and a wave of electoral losses hits gambling supporters.
In 2024, proponents of expanded gambling in the state lost multiple races in which incumbents had supported efforts to legalize sports betting or casinos in 2023.
A sports betting legalization measure narrowly passed the House in 2023 with 101 votes. Richardson and her 14 co-signers—many of whom replaced pro-gambling lawmakers—have stated opposition, dooming similar efforts in 2025.
Of the letter’s signatories, 11 are freshmen who unseated incumbents favoring gambling expansion, a setback to the gambling industry’s agenda.
The letter is the latest indicator of pro-gambling interests’ struggles in Texas this year.
An expanding scandal at the Texas Lottery Commission, which has drawn intense scrutiny from state leaders and the public, only compounds the issue.
A series of investigations into the Texas Lottery Commission have been launched. At the same time, allegations of negligence—or potentially worse—have surfaced after the commission allowed the theft of a $95 million jackpot in 2023.
That year, the commission permitted lottery couriers to bulk-purchase tickets covering every possible number combination, effectively guaranteeing a win for an outside group.
Gov. Greg Abbott has since directed the Texas Rangers to investigate two drawings. At the same time, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has demanded a comprehensive probe into the lottery’s operations, calling the incident “a betrayal of public trust.”
Cheryl Bean, a former Texas House candidate, posted, “The Texas Lottery Commission’s mess is proof gambling expansion is a bad bet for our state—time to clean house, not open the casino doors.”
Despite these setbacks, the gambling industry—led by heavyweights like Las Vegas Sands, which operates casinos in China (not Vegas), and the Texas Sports Betting Alliance—has again poured millions into an army of lobbyists and a blitz of virtual ads aimed at swaying lawmakers and public opinion.
Industry advocates argue that legalizing sports betting and casinos could generate billions in revenue for Texas, pointing to successes in states like Nevada and New Jersey.
Yet, with the lottery scandal casting a long shadow and a bolstered anti-gambling bloc in the House, their path to victory appears narrower than ever.
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