Governor Abbott doesn't support changing the Texas Constitution to legalize casino gambling, "I'm not there yet."
Efforts to legalize casino gambling in Texas have failed in recent legislative sessions, but the industry isn't giving up.
In an interview with CBS News Texas in Fort Worth, Governor Greg Abbott said he's not ready to support the idea of changing the Texas Constitution to legalize casino gambling.
"I'm not there yet. I'm simply not there yet," Abbott told CBS News Texas.
When asked why not, Abbott said, "Because we've seen increasingly problems that go along with gaming. Whether it be addiction or whether it be things that are happening in sporting events and athletes who are on the take. And so, there have been more red flags raised. That caused us to have to pause, step back, take a look at this and make sure that we wouldn't do anything that would be harmful, either to the people of the state of Texas, the culture that we have in the state, or to sporting events that we have in the state."
Under the previous legislation that failed at the Texas Capitol, the state would have allowed a limited number of resorts to be built that featured casino gambling in and around Dallas and Houston. In order for that to get the green light, a supermajority of lawmakers in the Texas House and Senate would need to approve amending the state constitution before sending it to the voters.
