Sports betting stocks rise as Abbott & Patrick lose

Goodwin’s win matters most: as lieutenant governor she’d set the Senate agenda Patrick used to block mobile betting.

The hit

Sports betting stocks are trading broadly higher after Democrats Gina Hinojosa & Vikki Goodwin defeated Republican incumbents Gov. Greg Abbott & Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday, according to Casino.org. The result has sparked hopes the Lone Star State could revisit online sports wagering.

Why it matters

Goodwin’s win matters most because Texas’s lieutenant governor sets the State Senate’s agenda, & Goodwin backs letting voters decide on iGaming & mobile betting. A 2024 House-passed mobile betting bill stalled in the Senate under Patrick. Any expansion still needs two-thirds majorities in both chambers, controlled by Republicans, before reaching voters. Operators see Texas as a prize market given fractured ties in California & Florida’s Seminole monopoly.

The record

Legislative threshold for gaming expansion	Two-thirds majority required in both Texas chambers before a public vote
Hinojosa’s gaming record	Opposed the 2023 sports wagering amendment (Casino.org)
Oklahoma governor-elect stance	Mike Mazzei wants to repair tribal casino relations damaged under Gov. Kevin Stitt

What happens next

Watch whether the Texas Legislature reintroduces a mobile sports wagering bill, whether the power shift prompts Texas to pursue litigation against prediction market operators, & whether Georgia, as some analysts speculate, follows.

Sources: Blue Wave Boosts Hopes for Texas Sports Betting

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