AUSTIN — From the time he was a state lawmaker in the late 1980s, through his 14-year tenure as Texas governor, Rick Perry was steadfast in his opposition to expanding gambling in his home state.
But Perry is now among those who are calling for Texas to legalize mobile sports betting during next year’s legislative session.
Perry, who served as governor from 2000-2014, has become a spokesman for the Sports Betting Alliance, a collective that includes prominent sportsbook operators and all of Texas’ major professional teams. Perry’s flip is seemingly at odds with how he voted as state lawmaker in 1986 and with a letter he penned to congressional leaders more than eight years ago.
The former governor is still opposed to expanded gambling. But he said he doesn’t see legalizing sports betting as an expansion because Texans are already placing bets, he said, either by going to states where it’s legal or betting illegally online.
“I’m not in favor of expansion of gambling,” Perry said in a telephone interview. “If someone stands up and says, ‘This is an expansion of gambling,’ that is an erroneous statement. It’s not. This is a regulation of something that’s going on, and it’s not going to go away.”
The Sports Betting Alliance reached out to Perry in the late summer, he said, as the midterm elections were approaching. He signed a contract with the Sports Betting Alliance to be its spokesman, he said. He declined to say how much the group is paying him, saying it’s a “fair amount.”
In the interview, Perry explained how his past stands on gambling-related issues correspond with his new position.
He voted against the Texas Racing Act during a 1986 special session. Almost two decades later, as governor, Perry penned a letter to Capitol Hill leaders in Washington D.C. saying he was opposed to expanding online gambling.
“Allowing Internet gaming to invade the homes of every American family, and be piped into our dens, our living rooms, our workplaces and even our kids’ bedrooms and dorm rooms, is a major decision,” Perry wrote to several top representatives and senators in March 2014. “We must carefully examine the short- and long-term social and economic consequences before Internet gambling spreads.”
When asked about the letter, Perry said he doesn’t have a clear memory of writing it and of all of its contents but said that he is still concerned that people under 21 years old — the legal age for gambling in the U.S. — might have access to it.
“I think that’s one of the clear safeguards in this legislation, or will be put in this legislation as it’s written,” Perry said. “The safeguards to make sure that if there are people who are engaged in this that aren’t supposed to be there, we’ll have ways to stop that.”
It’s unclear how much support legalized sports betting will have among lawmakers next year. During the 2021 session, there were two bills that would have legalized sports gambling and two that would have allowed four casinos to be built in Austin, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Houston and San Antonio.
But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Senate president, said sports gambling would not “see the light of day” and the bills died out. Last week, Patrick generally described his legislative priorities at a news conference, and gambling was not among the policy goals he listed.
Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, has filed Senate Joint Resolution 17, a constitutional amendment. Under her proposal, if voters approved, the Legislature could decide on whether to legalize sports betting and a newly created Texas Gaming Commission could issue casino licenses for up to four destination resorts in Dallas and Houston.
In order to pass, two-thirds of both the House and Senate would need to approve the resolution. Texans would then need to approve the measure in a vote.
Perry said he has not spoken to any lawmakers or state leaders about sports gambling. He said he will not serve as a lobbyist during the session.
“I won’t be going to the Capitol and wrangling votes for this,” he said.
