A change in leadership, with limits
Jefferies analyst David Katz said Goodwin's apparent defeat of Dan Patrick gives casino and online sports betting legislation a better chance in 2027. Goodwin favors letting Texans vote on gambling expansion, while Patrick had served as a key Senate gatekeeper.
The Texas Tribune reported on Nov. 3, 2026, that Goodwin had declared victory. Her win ends Patrick's tenure and makes her the state's first Democratic lieutenant governor in 27 years.
How much authority she will wield remains uncertain. In its Nov. 4 analysis, Gambling Insider said Republicans are expected to keep control of the Senate and could change its rules to restrict her role in committee appointments and legislation. Such changes were under discussion before Patrick's defeat. The Texas Tribune also noted that the lieutenant governor draws much of the office's power from rules adopted by senators, which the GOP majority could revise.
The incoming governor's record presents another part of the political picture. Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who defeated longtime Gov. Greg Abbott in the Nov. 3 election, opposed the 2023 constitutional amendments for both sports betting and casinos. Gambling Insider reported that gambling was not a major theme of her gubernatorial campaign.
Legislative votes must come before a statewide ballot
Even with Goodwin's support for a public vote, lawmakers would first have to meet the Texas Constitution's two-thirds requirement in each chamber. A gambling-expansion amendment needs 100 votes from the 150-member House and 21 from the 31-member Senate to reach the ballot, then approval by a majority of voters, according to Gambling Insider.
The 2023 proposals show how difficult that threshold has been to clear. The House approved a sports betting amendment 101-42, just above the required margin, but a separate casino proposal drew only 92 votes and did not advance. Neither reached the Senate. Another expansion effort stalled in 2025, Gambling Insider reported.
Sands' political spending and mixed polling
Sands has pursued Texas gambling expansion for years. Gambling Insider reported that its late founder, Sheldon Adelson, started the lobbying effort in 2021, hiring more than 100 lobbyists whose pay ranged between $5 million and $10 million. The outlet also cited a Dallas Morning News investigation estimating that Adelson spent about $29 million on political activity in Texas, much of it through PACs linked to Sands.
One recipient of Texas Sands PAC support was Democrat Nathan Johnson, who received $125,000 and defeated Republican Mayes Middleton in the Nov. 3, 2026, attorney general election. As a state senator in March 2025, Johnson introduced a constitutional amendment that would legalize sports betting and destination-resort casinos, according to Gambling Insider.
Polling has offered contrasting views of Texans' willingness to expand gambling. Gambling Insider cited a February 2025 University of Houston survey in which 73% supported destination-resort casinos and 60% supported online sports betting. An April 2025 University of Texas poll found more opposition than support: 42% opposed casino expansion and 38% favored it, while 45% opposed online betting and 31% supported it.
