Prediction Markets and Cryptocurrency Among Legislative Priorities for Texas Lt. Governor
Texas' second-ranking official has urged state legislators to examine "the sudden inundation of prediction market gambling" while legal challenges against these platforms emerge in other states.
Texas Lieutenant Governor and Senate President Dan Patrick has designated the examination of prediction markets alongside cryptocurrency and blockchain technology as key legislative priorities ahead of the state's upcoming legislative session, which is set to commence in January.
The lieutenant governor's office released 2026 interim charges for Texas Senate committees on Friday, outlining areas of focus for study in advance of the next legislative session. According to Patrick, these charges aim to "advance the priorities of Texas' conservative majority," which encompasses a comprehensive review of digital assets and prediction markets.
The charges indicate Patrick's desire for legislators to prioritize "closing gambling loopholes" through an investigation of "the sudden inundation of prediction market gambling and the exploitation of federal law to circumvent Texas gambling prohibitions" related to elections.
Within a broader financial technology initiative, the lieutenant governor has requested an assessment of how the state coordinates "coordination with federal rules" regarding cryptocurrency and blockchain, as well as an investigation into crypto kiosks operating throughout the Lone Star state.
Among the most restrictive in the nation, Texas maintains stringent regulations on sports betting and gambling activities, which are primarily limited to lottery operations run by the state and casinos located on Native American reservations. While gaming regulatory agencies in numerous other US states have initiated legal action against prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket concerning sports and election betting, Texas had not joined these lawsuits as of Tuesday.
Meeting biennially, the Texas legislature is slated to reconvene for a 140-day session in January 2027. During the 2025 legislative session, state lawmakers introduced a Bitcoin reserve bill, which received Governor Greg Abbott's signature and became law in June.
AI is also under scrutiny as Anthropic plans Texas expansion
Patrick's charges also included an examination of the "impact of AI on the Texas workforce and its implications for economic competitiveness."
This announcement coincided with emerging reports indicating that Google plans to back a multibillion-dollar data center facility in Texas that would be leased to Anthropic. With initial costs anticipated to surpass $5 billion, the project arrives during a period when numerous US-based mining companies are shifting their focus toward AI and high-performance computing in response to rising mining difficulty and declining crypto prices.