The #2 Texas state official has called for a legislative study into prediction market gambling and digital assets. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick issued 2026 interim charges for state Senate committees, aiming to analyze the “sudden inundation” of prediction markets and examine crypto coordination with federal rules ahead of its next session in 2027. This move aligns with actions in other jurisdictions that have taken platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket to court.
Texas Lieutenant Governor and Senate President Dan Patrick has included a study of prediction markets and cryptocurrency in his legislative priorities for the state’s upcoming session. The 2026 interim charges, issued on Friday, are intended to “advance the priorities of Texas’ conservative majority.”
According to the announcement, lawmakers are to focus on “closing gambling loopholes” by studying election-focused prediction market gambling. The charge specifically targets “the sudden inundation of prediction market gambling and the exploitation of federal law to circumvent Texas gambling prohibitions.”
As part of a financial technology initiative, Patrick also called for an evaluation of the state’s coordination with federal crypto rules and an examination of crypto kiosks. Texas maintains some of the nation’s strictest gambling laws, largely restricting activity to Native American casinos and the state lottery.
Other US jurisdictions have filed lawsuits against prediction market platforms, but Texas was not among them as of this week. The state legislature, which meets biennially, is scheduled to return for its next 140-day session in January 2027.
In its previous session, Texas lawmakers proposed and passed a Bitcoin reserve bill, which was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in June. Among Patrick’s other charges is a study of the impact of AI on the Texas workforce, coinciding with reports of a multibillion-dollar data center project for Anthropic in the state.
