Attempts to Create Texas Sports Betting Accounts Are on the Rise

New data released from GeoComply shows that interest in Texas sports betting continues to climb among residents of The Lone Star State.

This interest in question is measured through attempted logins. GeoComply provides geolocation data, security and solutions to its customers. This includes isolating the true location of a person’s digital presence.

In this case, that refers to how many people attempted to bet on sports in Texas. Because sports betting in The Lone Star State isn’t yet legal, we theoretically should not expect that number to be too high. Sure, instances of attempted logins are unavoidable. But Texas sports betting laws are longstanding. Residents participating in online sports betting throughout the USA should theoretically be more likely to create accounts in other states or by using offshore betting sites such as BetOnline, Bovada, MyBookie and others.

And yet, in states without legal sports betting that have a clear cut demand for it, login data from GeoComply tends to be much higher. Sometimes, it seems absurdly high. Given the latest reports, which bucket do Texas sports betting attempts fall under?

Let’s find out.

Texas Sports Betting Attempts Experience 55 Percent Year-Over-Year Growth

The number of online Texas sports betting attempts last year predictably landed inside the millions. That is still a huge ballpark. But it is expected. After all, Texas is the second highest populated state, behind only California, according to StatsAmerica.org.

However, even by these standards, The Lone Star State saw an exponential increase in the number of login attempts. As Pat Evans writes over at Legal Sports Report:

“The sports betting industry is focused on the enormous potential of The Lone Star State. There were 4.5 million checks recorded in Texas from 333,458 accounts. There was a 55 percent year-over-year growth in accounts. Bills have been filed to expand gambling in Texas, but despite surging momentum, key roadblocks remain.”

There is no overstating the significance of these findings. What’s more, they likely fail to paint anything close to a clear picture.

As we already mentioned, Texas sports betting laws are well-known to the average citizen. To that end, few sports betting enthusiasts with that knowledge are likely to attempt logins inside state lines. Instead, they are far more likely to journey into neighboring states. Most notably, sports betting in Kansas, sports betting in Colorado, sports betting in Louisiana and sports betting in New Mexico all provide opportunities for Texans to circumvent their own state’s laws.

For those who live further away from other states’ borders, they are more likely to bet with offshore online sportsbooks. And knowing all of this, it is patently wild that Texas sports betting login attempts and account creations skyrocketed during the 2024 calendar year. 

Believe It Or Not, Texas Was On the Lower End Of Increases In Sports Betting Attempts

After everything we just outlined, it might surprise many to know the increase in Texas sports betting attempts last year does not qualify as a standout. In fact, many other states without legal sports betting saw larger shares of growth.

GeoComply’s data is boiled down to seven states: Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska and South Carolina. (Of note: Mississippi and Nebraska allow on-site wagering but not online sports betting.) Most of the non-Texas states experienced a bigger increase in attempted logins. Evans expands on this in his piece for Legal Sports Report:

“All seven states saw a year-over-year increase in the number of active sports betting accounts. That includes more than 100 percent account growth in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. [The] Palmetto State saw an eye-popping 436.67 percent increase in accounts. 

“In South Carolina, GeoComply tracked more than 7.7 million checks from 365,808 accounts. After online sportsbooks launched in North Carolina last year, South Carolina legislators could consider legislation. Alabama saw a nearly 160 percent year-over-year increase in accounts. Those pinged 2.9 million times, and legislators might discuss gambling issues yet again this year. Georgia, which has been on a bumpy path to legalization for several years, received 3.7 million checks from 297,239 accounts, a 101 percent year-over-year increase. Similar to Georgia, Minnesota will look at legalization again this year. More than 86,000 accounts checked in 1.3 million times in Minnesota.”

This across-the-board increase in sports betting attempts suggest many of these states will consider legalization with more urgency during 2025 legislative meetings. But does that logic hold when it comes to Texas sports betting?

Don’t Hold Your Breath For Texas Sports Betting Legalization In 2025

Despite a clear and growing demand for Texas sports betting, legalization still seems to be a ways off.

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has repeatedly said there is not enough support inside the Senate for a sports betting bill to be put to a vote, let alone actually pass. Discussions during Texas’ 2023 legislative sessions support as much.

A Texas sports betting bill made it through the House of Representatives at that time. However, it received virtually no traction inside the Senate.

Many assign blame for this discrepancy to Lieutenant Governor Patrick himself. While he maintains any Texas sports betting must be driven by Republicans, the last proposal had a good amount of bi-partisan support. The assumption was that any support from conservatives would at least prompt a thorough dialogue in the Senate. It didn’t.

This, in turn, leads many to believe sports betting will continue to falter so long as Mr. Patrick is in office. Others insist there will be movement on sports betting once casino gambling in Texas is legalized. A select few, meanwhile, do not see Texas joining the legal sports betting ranks any time soon, regardless of the forces inciting the holdout.

So just how far away is sports betting in The Lone Star State? We genuinely have no idea. And we may not get many answers in 2025.

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