Texas lawmakers will reconsider laws regarding gambling and marijuana this legislative session. But will their decisions reflect what a majority of Texans want?
Just last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced a bill to ban all THC products in Texas as one of his top Senate priorities. And in 2023, a bill to legalize sports betting died in the Senate after failing to garner enough Republican support.
But most Texans think it’s time for a change. A survey released today by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston found that 62% of surveyed Texans want to legalize recreational marijuana use, and almost three quarters said the same about gambling.
Renée Cross, researcher and senior executive director of the Hobby School, joined the Standard to break down these findings.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Most Texans are in favor of easing restrictions on marijuana use and gambling in some form. What did the breakdown look like among Democrat and Republican respondents?
Renée Cross: That’s actually one of the most interesting aspects of this survey, is that we have majorities and often supermajorities that are in support of the legalization of gambling and marijuana. And that means that this support has crossed demographic lines, including partisanship.
For example, when we just look at support for destination resort casinos in Texas, 74% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans support these resort casinos. We don’t see this type of agreement anywhere in policy, in politics. So I really think that that’s probably the most remarkable aspect of all these findings.
Part of that support comes from the hope that this would boost economic activity for the state. How might legal expansion of these activities be a smart money move for Texas?
Well, there’s no doubt that Texas loses literally millions, if not billions, of dollars in particularly gambling that goes to Louisiana or Oklahoma or New Mexico. By some accounts, it looks like there could be a loss of tax revenue of around $300 million per year. So we’re talking a lot of money.
And for those that feel like this is an a moral issue, well, obviously Texans are taking advantage of it in other states. So the argument is, if they’re already doing it, why not reap the benefits here?
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Well, how do these findings compare to attitudes about gambling and marijuana use in years past? Do Texans have a reason to be hopeful about legislation this session?
I don’t think so. The support for these legalization efforts has continually grown. But there was certainly robust support for these measures last session and didn’t go anywhere.
I think particularly with Lieutenant Governor Patrick’s focus on banning the use of consumable THC, we’re really, I think, less likely to see any type of movement on the marijuana side just because it is related.
Did anything surprising come out of the survey? What stands out as the most important takeaway for lawmakers?
You know, even though Texas is a conservative state – I don’t think anyone would deny that; in fact, some folks still consider Texas as part of the Bible Belt – even with that strong conservatism in the state, folks want the flexibility of being able to gamble or partake in marijuana.
