A special election in North Texas is getting a lot of attention across the state. Lawmakers and casino owners are watching to see how it might affect future gambling laws in Texas. People in Senate District 9, which includes most of Tarrant County, will go to the polls again on Dec. 13 to choose between Republican Leigh Wambsganss and Democrat Taylor Rehmet. So far, no candidate has gotten 50% of the vote in last week’s special election.
The race has turned into a fight over whether Texas should let full-size casinos open. At the moment, state law only allows a few types of gambling. These include the Texas Lottery, parimutuel betting on horse and greyhound races, charitable bingo and raffles, and some tribal operations.
As of now, state law still doesn’t allow commercial casinos and doesn’t license any online businesses. People from Texas who want to gamble legally often drive to Oklahoma or Louisiana, or they use websites in other countries that let Texas players.
Independent resources have sprung up to track which platforms serve the state, comparing casino sites for Texas residents without changing the fact that Texan law has yet to create a regulated framework of its own. Such platforms review licensing, payments, and game offerings to help people find their way through that gray area. This workaround shows there is a clear interest in casino play even though much of the market remains outside Texas regulation until lawmakers act.
A lot of money from outside the district has been pouring into the race. Adelson, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks who has long pushed for “destination resort” casinos in Texas, has given Huffman’s campaign money through her Texas Sands political group.
According to news reports from the Dallas area, she has given more than $3 million to support Huffman directly and indirectly. This makes him the clear favorite of Las Vegas Sands and other casino interests.
Wambsganss has tried to make that spending a liability. With the help of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and major right-wing donors, the conservative activist has fought hard against any plans to expand gambling.
She recently warned that “those gambling entities have billions and billions of dollars, and they can really do an incredible misinformation campaign.” She was saying that she thought money from outside casinos was trying to buy influence at the Capitol.
Rehmet, a union leader and Air Force veteran, has focused his campaign on issues like schools, health care, and workers’ rights instead of gambling laws. Still, his strong performance in a district that tends to vote Republican has caught the attention of both parties. They see the runoff as a test of how suburban voters feel about the next election in 2026.
At this point, voters in District 9 will have to choose between two candidates who both beat the industry-backed candidate but have very different ideas about what should happen next. It won’t end the debate about gambling in Texas on December 13, but it could decide who has a key seat at the table when the issue comes back to Austin.
