The biggest name standing between Texas and legal casinos lost his job Tuesday night.
Democrat Vikki Goodwin unseated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, becoming the first Democrat elected to the office since Bob Bullock in 1994. At the top of the ticket, Gina Hinojosa beat Gov. Greg Abbott to become the first Democrat elected governor of Texas since Ann Richards in 1990. Goodwin takes office in January 2027, just as the legislative session begins.
For Mark Cuban, Las Vegas Sands, and other casino proponents, it’s the best political news in Texas in more than a decade. For sweepstakes casinos that have built one of their largest markets in the state, it’s more complicated.
Retail casino backers are among the loudest critics of online gaming, so logic suggests a stronger casino lobby in Austin may eventually turn its attention to the sites already operating in Texas … including sweepstakes casinos.
Patrick's role in preventing gambling expansion
The Texas lieutenant governor is unusually powerful compared to the role in other states. They preside over the Senate, appoint committee chairs and members, and refer bills to committees.
Patrick used that position to obstruct gambling legislation.
In 2023, the Texas House approved a sports betting amendment 101-42 and backed a casino amendment 92-51. But Patrick stalled the sports betting measure in the Senate, saying the votes were not there. In more recent sessions, Patrick has maintained he wouldn’t let a gambling bill move in the Senate unless he knew there would be majority Republican support.
Goodwin appears to be softer on gambling. Even receptive to it. She told Casino.org in 2025 that gambling would not be a pillar of her campaign, but that she would support casino resorts and online sports betting if voters approved them at the ballot.
"We need to listen to the voters of Texas," she said.
The change in the governor's office may matter less, especially considering Abbott had already signaled support for online sports betting.
The Senate still has the biggest say
A new lieutenant governor removes one obstacle. But just one.
Casino legalization would require a constitutional amendment, and that takes 100 votes in the House and 21 in the Senate, followed by approval from voters.
Those are steep numbers. The 2023 casino amendment's 92 House votes fell short, and Republican support in the House had fallen off by the 2025 session. Also, significantly, the Republican Party of Texas platform officially opposes gambling expansion. And the lawmakers in the Senate may have been an even larger barrier to gambling expansion than Patrick was.
Goodwin's power is not guaranteed either. Much of the office's authority comes from rules senators adopt each session, and CBS News reported that Republican senators were considering rule changes to limit her authority if she won.
Also, despite the blue wave that hit Texas during this election, a casino amendment may still be an uphill battle. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Texas Tribune reported an 83-67 Democratic majority in the House if current results hold, while the AP projected at least 76 Democratic seats with 13 still undecided. The Senate appeared to hold at 19-12 in favor of the Republicans. If those numbers hold, a casino amendment would need at least 17 House Republicans and nine Senate Republicans, even if every Democrat voted yes.
So, in reality, if Republicans curb the lieutenant governor's powers, Goodwin's election may change less than casino backers hope.
Where sweepstakes casinos come in
Most of the retail casino industry’s opposition to online gaming is aimed at real-money iGaming. The concern is cannibalization — that customers and revenue will get taken from brick-and-mortar properties.
That opposition has reached sweepstakes gaming as well. At a hearing on Maryland's House Bill 295, a bill in the 2026 legislative session that would have banned sweeps casinos had it passed, casino representatives testified in favor of the bill.
"Sweepstakes casinos offer Internet gaming," Brad Rifkin of Caesars' Horseshoe Baltimore told committee members.
The American Gaming Association has urged a crackdown on the sweepstakes model, and Indian Gaming Association chair Victor Rocha has also been a vocal opponent — a leader among many vocal opponents in tribal gaming.
Sweeps leaders told Sweepsy they think fear of competition is the motive for the opposition, even though operators have long maintained their gaming audience is different from a real-money audience. Critics say their concerns are about legality, consumer protections, and unpaid taxes.
Looking ahead ...
For now, sweeps casinos are free to operate in Texas. There is no law banning them, and no cease-and-desists trying to lick them out.
It’s hard to understate the importance of Texas for sweeps operators. It ranks behind only California in population. Dual-currency sweepstakes gaming is banned in California, so Texas is the largest viable market where the traditional sweepstakes model is not restricted.
In fact, Texas is the only state among the six most highly populated in the country where there is not either an active or pending law against sweeps casinos or a presence of cease-and-desists.
So Texas is a must-keep in the legal column for the sweeps industry.
While no bills in Texas have ever been introduced targeting sweeps gaming models, Senate Bill 517, a 2025 bill aimed at physical game rooms, raised concerns because it broadened the definitions of "gambling device" and "thing of value” but it eventually stalled out.
Sweeps bans also passed this year in neighboring Oklahoma and Louisiana.