(Texas Scorecard) \u2013 Four candidates are running for the Republican nomination for Texas attorney general in the March 3, 2026, primary. Each candidate was asked to share their views regarding online gambling in Texas.<\/p>\n
As previously\u00a0reported<\/a>, online sports betting is prolific among younger populations.\u00a0Scientific literature<\/a>\u00a0reports those who engage in internet gambling have the highest risk of developing a gambling disorder.<\/p>\n Prediction markets, such as Kalshi, provide an avenue for Texans for individuals to wager on the outcome of an event, including sports events.<\/p>\n Under the Texas Constitution, gambling is illegal unless an exception is made by the legislature.<\/p>\n Gambling is defined as \u201can agreement to win or lose something of value solely or partially by chance\u201d under the\u00a0Texas Constitution<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aaron Reitz<\/p>\n A Marine Corps veteran, former deputy attorney general, and appointed assistant attorney general of the Office of Legal Policy in the DOJ under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Aaron Reitz announced his\u00a0candidacy<\/a>\u00a0for Texas attorney general in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs the next Attorney General, my responsibility will be to use every lawful tool available\u2014including the issuance of legal opinions, cooperation with local and federal authorities when formally requested, and enforcement of consumer protection and charitable trust laws\u2014to ensure that Texas gambling laws are upheld,\u201d Reitz told\u00a0Texas Scorecard.<\/p>\n When discussing prediction markets, Reitz stated \u201c[a]s for why Texas has not taken legal action against Kalshi, there may be multiple constitutional, statutory, and regulatory considerations involved.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Reitz explained that \u201c[t]he AG\u2019s Consumer Protection Division can pursue civil enforcement actions against individuals or entities that mislead Texans about the legality of their gambling or betting operations.\u201d<\/p>\n Joan Huffman<\/p>\n State Sen. Joan Huffman, current chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has also\u00a0entered<\/a>\u00a0the race for attorney general. During her career as a senator, Huffman has served as chair of various committees, including State Affairs, Jurisprudence, and Redistricting.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a State Senator, I have opposed any efforts to expand gambling in Texas. Serving as Attorney General, I will stay dedicated to enforcing our existing state laws and shielding communities from illegal gambling operations through vigorous prosecutions,\u201d Huffman stated toTexas Scorecard.<\/p>\n Chip Roy<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Chip Roy\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0his campaign in August, the latest Republican to\u00a0enter<\/a>\u00a0the contest for the open seat. Roy currently represents Texas\u2019 21st Congressional District and serves as policy director of the House Freedom Caucus.<\/p>\n Roy is also a former assistant U.S. attorney and first assistant attorney general of Texas.<\/p>\n \u201cI oppose online gambling and other forms of gambling in Texas,\u201d Roy wrote to\u00a0Texas Scorecard. \u201cI will pursue all litigation to enforce the law, and use the power of AG opinions to ensure the law is clear, and [I] advocated that position \u2026 as First Assistant AG.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayes Middleton<\/p>\n State Sen. Mayes Middleton, president of Middleton Oil Co., announced his\u00a0campaign<\/a>\u00a0for attorney general in May, shortly after incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n \u201cOur laws and Constitution are not suggestions,\u201d Middleton told\u00a0Texas Scorecard. \u201cAs attorney general, I will pursue litigation against any company, politician, or rogue George Soros DA that attempts to treat them as such with civil penalties, criminal penalties, or removal from office.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have a consistent and clear record of holding unlawful gambling operations accountable, as well as those attempting to illegally expand gambling\u201d Middleton continued. \u201cI will continue to enforce and defend our laws to the fullest extent as the next attorney general.\u201d<\/p>\n Dangers associated with Gambling<\/p>\n Gambling addiction is a disorder recognized by the\u00a0American Psychiatric Association<\/a>. Gambling losses \u201cexacerbate psychological stress and shame, resulting in death by suicide\u201d for those with gambling-related financial problems according to\u00a0research<\/a>.<\/p>\n When legalized, \u201cthe rate of irresponsible gambling\u2014defined as monthly gambling expenditures exceeding 1% of income\u2014rose by 372%\u201d according to\u00a0research<\/a>\u00a0published by Southern Methodist University.<\/p>\n This consumer fraud scheme exploits addicts for profit.\u00a0Research<\/a>\u00a0shows 51 percent of revenue from sports betting is derived from problem gamblers in Connecticut.<\/p>\n Election Dates<\/p>\n The last day to\u00a0register to vote<\/a>\u00a0in the primary is Feb. 2. Early voting runs from Feb. 17 to Feb. 27, and the\u00a0primary<\/a> is March 3, 2026. The General Election is Nov. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Texas Scorecard) \u2013 Four candidates are running for the Republican nomination for Texas attorney general in the March…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4485,4486,4480,4483,4482,27,4479,4481,29,28,4484],"class_list":{"0":"post-3988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-aaron-reitz","9":"tag-attorney-general","10":"tag-gambling-in-texas","11":"tag-internet-gambling","12":"tag-joan-huffman","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-texas-attorney-general","15":"tag-texas-constitution","16":"tag-texas-headlines","17":"tag-texas-news","18":"tag-texas-scorecard"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}