The Stakes of the Game: Online Sports Betting in Texas, Part 1 of 3

There is one issue that is flying under the radar that will come up again in the next Texas legislative session. Thirty-nine states have legalized online sports betting, and the gaming industry and professional sports teams are pushing hard for Texas to become the 40th. Texas has a gross state product of more than $2 trillion making it the eighth largest economy in the world, a growing population, and 80% of its 30 million residents are of legal gambling age. If Texas legalizes online sports betting it would be a huge win for the gaming industry and for the state’s coffers. It’s easy to understand why, when it was defeated in the Texas senate in the last legislative session, the industry has not given up. To be clear, the gaming industry is not asking for the legislature to legalize online sports betting, it is asking the legislature to put it on the ballot for voters to decide.

There are two important questions that are bound up in this issue. First, should citizens be given this choice? Second, should online sports betting be legal? These questions deserve more than social media posts and clever sound bites. Conservatives are the descendants of the founding generation, men like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, who read hard books and thought deeply about them. Their political debates were informed by political theorists and statesmen like Cicero, John Locke, and Montesquieu and their political disagreements were grounded in questions about the good life and permanent truths. It is the responsibility of conservatives today to preserve this tradition of getting to the core of issues and grounding the debates in objective, eternal truths that define the Western intellectual tradition. As conservatives we should seek to elevate the debate to keep from being duped by fads and swept up in the moment. This is who we have always been and should strive to continue being.

It is with this ambition that I write three essays about online sports betting in Texas. Perhaps it’s a pretentious endeavor, but it’s an endeavor worth undertaking. In no way will these essays achieve the intellectual depth of Madison, Locke, or Hobbes. I don’t have that capacity. But what these essays will do is properly situate the debate. Only the most well-connected and well-funded are paying attention. This is our chance to develop our own positions before the deluge of advertisements and influencers try to tell us what to think.

The first essay will tackle the question of whether this is a decision best made by voters. The second essay will examine the arguments both for and against online sports betting. The third essay will look at what has happened in the thirty-nine states that have legalized online sports betting. I will not, in any essay, take a side. I will simply make clear the stakes of the game.

Republic or Democracy; It's up to you

The question of whether to let voters decide is a question that gets to one of the core questions at our nation’s founding: should we be a democracy or a republic? Our founders chose a republic. While some wanted an aristocracy to rule, most were of the opinion—as they were steeped in Roman history and skeptical of the monarchy they just defeated—that the people should play a role in government. But the important question became whether the populace was best equipped to determine their own interests or if they were only able to discern their own wants. That is, if faced with the choice between water or whiskey: one is in my best interest and one I want. Even those who were sympathetic to the inclusion of the common man were skeptical of democracy as it was understood to be mob rule.

Instead of having voters decide on every issue, they put in checks on the will of the majority. One of the reasons we have a federal structure—in which states and the national government have authority—and powers separated among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches is to stymie the will of the majority. At the national level judges are insulated from popular will as they are appointed for life. The electoral college was created so that more than just a popular majority would elect the president. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, Senators were selected by the state legislatures and not by popular vote. The House of Representatives, while being closer to the interests of the people, was still to act as a moderating force as the opinions of the people were filtered through their representatives and the rules governing the House of Representatives. But this did not mean that the will of the majority should not see its will enacted. The government would simply be a permeable barrier that would allow passions to cool and wisdom to prevail.

But even republics must decide whether to let the will of the people dictate its direction or whether the representatives should do what they think is best. Our politics today is still experiencing this tension. Edmund Burke, one of the forefathers of conservative thought, considered the question of whether representatives should be delegates or trustees. In a delegate role, representatives would simply survey their constituents and do what the majority wants. In a trustee role, representatives would use their own judgement and moral guidance to do what they deem best for their constituents. A delegate could be criticized for lacking the courage to lead, but the people get what they want. A trustee could be criticized for not representing the will of the voters and then be voted out of office.

So the question of whether online sports betting should be put to the voters is really a question of whether voters are in the best to decide the question. Should people who are persuaded by what they see on social media or hear on podcasts decide the matter? Or should people who depend upon big money donors to keep their seats be charged with the task? This is not hyperbole. If the legislature decides the question should be put to voters, billionaires will flood social media, podcasts, television, and radio with clever arguments, celebrity endorsements, influencers, and catchy phrases. If the legislature itself is to decide, billionaire donors will battle for influence over our representatives. So the question of whether the voters should decide the fate of online sports gambling is really a question of whether in today's politics we prefer a democracy or a republic. The only way to answer that question is to follow in the footsteps of our founding fathers: read hard books and then think deeply about them.

The next essay will lay out the arguments for and against online sports gambling.

Kyle Scott, PhD, MBA, is a longtime taxpayer advocate beginning with his service on the Lone Star College Board of Trustees. Scott is currently a professor of entrepreneurship and business owner. He was elected to the Harris Central Appraisal District Board of Directors in 2024. Kyle lives with his wife, Bethany, and two teenage children in Spring, TX. They have been members of Trinity Klein Lutheran Church for 16 years.

[email protected]   X:@kanthonyscott