The Texas House gave initial approval to bills that would allow a limited number of destination-resort style casinos and online sports betting in Texas, but the proposals will need more votes to get final passage and be sent to the Senate.

Two sets of proposals are before House lawmakers on Wednesday: One that would allow a limited number of destination-resort style casinos in Texas and another that would legalize online sports betting.

Expanding casinos or allowing sports betting in Texas would ultimately go to voters for approval as a constitutional amendment.

“We should let people vote,” said Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican, who authored a proposal for destination resort style casinos in Texas, casinos that are accompanied by amenities like hotels, restaurants, meeting spaces, entertainment venues and shopping centers.

Geren’s bill, House Joint Resolution 155, passed 92-51. But since it’s a constitutional amendment, the measure needs 100 votes on Thursday, when the bill’s expected to next be considered, to advance to the Senate. Geren’s bill, a companion bill that outlines casino regulations and the proposals for sports betting face tough odds in the Senate and are up against the clock as the Legislature wraps its final weeks and other key deadlines loom. The Legislative session ends May 29.

The House hasn’t yet voted on the companion bills for casino or sports betting.

Rep. Jeff Leach laid out a bill that would let voters decide whether to legalize online sports betting, which got a few more votes than the casino measure, passing 97-44. It too will need 100 votes to advance to the Senate.

Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan have both expressed openness to destination resort style casinos in Texas and said the majority of Texans support sports betting. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said there are not enough votes to pass the proposals in the Senate.

What does the casino bill do?

Geren told his House colleagues Texans are already gambling at casinos in bordering states and stressed that the casinos would be limited in scope. He said proposal would bring in thousands of jobs, bring in billions in new development investments and add a revenue stream for Texas. The measures include a 15% tax on gross casino gaming revenue that would go to education and public safety.

“We’re not just talking about just any kind of casino,” Geren said. “We’re not talking about slot machines in 7-11s or a slot on every corner. … We’re not even talking about slot machines in my restaurant.”’

When it went to the floor for debate on Wednesday, the bill allowed for eight destination resort style casinos: Two in the Houston area, two in Dallas-Fort Worth, one each in the San Antonio, McAllen and Corpus Christi areas and one at an unspecified location. The casino at an unspecified site would have to be picked through an open bid, located at least 100 miles away the cities where the other casinos are located and in a county that approved casinos in Texas.

It was amended to add a casino in the Austin-area and allow for the McAllen area casino to alternatively be located in the Brownsville-Harlingen area. A permitted casino was also added to a location where the Texas Racing Association “has issued or is considering issuing a racetrack license.”

“This is an amendment that would allow racetrack licensing in Jefferson County,” said Rep. Christian Manuel, a Beaumont Democrat.

The licenses would allow those who are already licensed for horse or dog racing in the state to apply for a casino license or designate another business to apply. Texas has 10 active horse or dog racing licenses, though only five of the tracks have races scheduled for 2023, according to the Texas Racing Commission.

A person or company couldn’t own more than two destination resort style casinos, and racing license holders don’t have to pursue opening a casino, which creates opportunities for those without a racing license to buy the ability to apply for a casino license. The Chickasaw Nation, Penn Entertainment, Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta, casino and resort company Las Vegas Sands, and the LaMantia Family, known for beer distribution, have emerged as some of the players in the push for casinos who could benefit from the bill passing.

Sands through its political arm, lobbyist and The Texas Destination Resort Alliance, has spent big to bring destination resort style casinos to Texas. A representative from the company testified in March that they are in active negotiations for a license, were the casinos allowed by voters.

Geren’s bill would also allow for negotiations on a tribal-state compact to allow Texas’ three federally recognized tribes to operate casino-style games in the state. Texas has some tribal casinos, but the compact would let them broaden the types of games offered.

The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas has said the bill doesn’t go far enough and would be financially devastating if they weren’t allowed to open a casino closer to San Antonio, where the majority of its customers are from. An amendment addressing the tribe’s concerns was struck down using a successful procedural maneuver initiated by Rep. Tony Tinderholt, an Arlington Republican.

Other lawmakers who opposed the bill raised concerns with crime, addiction and increasing the size of government.

The House was debating a bill to allow sports betting as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Sports betting in Texas?

Rep. Jeff Leach, a Plano Republican, is carrying the House’s sports betting legislation. An identical bill has been filed in the Senate, but it hasn’t received a committee hearing. The bills, working together, would allow for and regulate online sports betting in Texas, if approved by voters.

Leach argued that legal sports betting would deter betting on illegal apps on phones and online.

It bars sports betting for those under 21 and doesn’t allow not allow computer terminals in places like clubs for the primary use of sports betting. It establishes a permitted process for sports betting and allows sport governing bodies to enter into commercial agreements. Betting on youth sports would not be allowed.

Operators would have to pay a 10% tax on net revenue, most of which would go to the Texas Education Agency for property tax relief. Two percent would also go to a fund for problem gaming and addiction.

Thirty-three states and Washington D.C. currently have sports betting, according to the American Gaming Association.

Online sports betting in Texas has the support of a number of professional teams through the Texas Sports Betting Alliance. Former Gov. Rick Perry, a spokesperson for the group, has also come out in favor of the idea.

“It will give Texans the ability to decide for themselves if they want this activity safely regulated or continue to be conducted in the shadows by out-of-state betting platforms,” Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said in a February statement, when the legislation was first filed.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.