Texas Lawmakers Seek Gambling Ballot Initiative

This week Texas state representative Charlie Green announced that he has introduced House Joint Resolution 97 with the goal of adding a ballot initiative in November to decide if they'd like to legalize gambling in the Lonestar State.

The initiative would legalize gambling in the state and then would allow for companies to apply for gaming licenses. The end goal would be to create seven casino resorts throughout the state, with two in Dallas-Forth Worth, two in Houston, one in San Antonio, one in Corpus Christi, and one in McAllen. Texas would also create a gambling commission to regulate the activity. Gambling would see casinos taxed at 15% on gross gaming revenue for each license holder.

If the measure gets through the House and Senate, it would move to the desk of Governor Greg Abbott for approval before hitting the ballot. The measure would change language in Texas' constitution, which currently outlaws most forms of gambling.

This isn't the first attempt by a politician to legalize gambling in Texas, as state senator Carol Alvarado filed a similar resolution last year. The initiative didn't advance past the introduction phase, though.

Casino Listings News is following this story and will update as appropriate.