If you or a loved one have a gambling addiction, call the National Problem Gambling Hotline at 1-800-426-2537, or text 800GAM. Additional resources can be found on the Texas Lottery Commission’s website.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Members of the Texas Senate and House filed joint resolutions this month proposing amendments to the state’s constitution that would allow the legislature to legalize and tax “casino gaming and sports wagering.” However, some groups warn that the state should consider if the extra revenue is worth the negative impacts of gambling.
SJR 16 and HJR 137 would, if passed by the Legislature, go to Texas voters for approval in November. Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Lake Worth, authored HJR 137; he also filed a version in 2023 that failed to pass. Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Austin, authored SJR 16.
Neither resolution would outright legalize any form of gambling but would open the door to future legislation that could.
Texas Public Policy Foundation Chief Researcher Officer Dr. Derek Cohen told KXAN that Texas could rake in millions of dollars in revenue, but that sum should be balanced against the negative impacts on Texans.
“We’re talking about serious revenues, but we’re also talking about serious downsides,” he said.
In January, Cohen and TPPF published a study on gambling legalization and its potential impacts.
According to the study, Texas legislature has considered gambling legalization during every session since 1993. A University of Houston poll in January found that 73% of Texans support legalizing casinos and 60% of Texans support legalizing online sports wagering.
Cohen, summarizing his report, estimated that 4.5 million Texans could be negatively affected by legalized gambling.
“Unfortunately, we also anticipate a large, large increase in some of the social maladies that go along with gambling, both in terms of mental health issues and crime. Once those casinos go in, there tends to be a pretty durable increase in crime,” Cohen said.
A casino in your hand
Online sports wagering, which can be done via phone while at home, brings its own problems.
“When Ohio went ahead and legalized online sports wagering, they doubled the amount of calls to their problem gambling hotline,” Cohen said. “If you’re going to bet on a sports game by going into a retail sports book, you at least have to put on your pants that day. Whereas if you’re just watching online and playing along on the apps, it’s fun and exciting, but there’s almost no social friction to finding yourself in a pretty deep hole pretty quick.”
Research suggests that problem gambling activates the brain of an addict in ways similar to narcotics addicts. However, unlike drug addiction, it doesn’t matter if a gambler wins — each wager activates the same pathways.
“Gambling, unlike any other addiction, is associated with cognitive distortions,” said researcher Dr. Timothy Fong in a 2021 UCLA Health article. “People say, ‘If I keep gambling then eventually I’ll win.’ You don’t say that about alcohol, tobacco or cocaine.”
The National Council on Problem Gambling passed a resolution in 2017 about sports betting, in which it called for lawmakers to take steps “to minimize harm.”
“Everyone who profits from sports betting bears responsibility for gambling problems…Therefore any governmental body and sports league that receives a direct percentage or portion of sports betting revenue must also dedicate funds to prevent and treat gambling problems,” reads a 2018 NCPG document.
