You may remember from school (or, if you’re from a certain generation, "School House Rock") the process behind taking a bill and passing it into law. The academic structure (and song) are accurate, but there is significantly more behind-the-scenes work required for legislation, such as a bill that permits sports betting, to pass.
Here’s an outline of that process:
Step 1: Introduction
To pass a bill, the term for a proposed law change, it first must be typed out and “introduced.” Introduction comes when a legislator in the U.S. Congress or one of the 50 states submits this bill for consideration.
The elected official who introduces the bill (known as the sponsor), not surprisingly, wants to see the law change. For gambling matters, this is typically someone whose district or representation area includes a casino or other gambling-related ventures. Many of the lawmakers in the 39 states that have approved legal sports betting or online casino gaming were bettors themselves and wanted the chance for their fellow residents to do so legally.
Most state legislatures will introduce hundreds or even thousands of bills. Few will pass. When a headline says a “bill is introduced,” it’s just the first formal step in a long process.
Most state legislatures meet only in the first few months of a calendar year. Several meet year round and a few only meet every other year.
The U.S. Congress meets year-round, but it seldom addresses – let alone passes – gambling-related bills. Most meaningful gaming legislation comes from state-level governments.
Step 2: Committee assignment
Every bill, no matter how unlikely of passing, will be assigned to a committee. Committee are smaller groups of lawmakers, usually around a dozen, though that number ranges widely depending on the state and nature of the committee.
Many states with strong gambling traditions or casino presence will have a specific committee just dealing with these matters. Those committees are almost always first assigned gambling bills. For states without strong gambling backgrounds, the first committee could cover almost any subject.
Some longshot sports betting bills have been filed over the past few weeks in South Carolina and Texas ahead of their legislative sessions. More to come, most likely.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) December 13, 2024
At the very least, though, lawmakers in those states could be pondering legalization in 2025. pic.twitter.com/otclxxClpz
For many bills, gambling or otherwise, this is as far as a proposal goes. The committee, which likely has hundreds of bills to consider, is under no obligation to discuss the bill. The decision on which bills to address typically comes down to the committee chair, who represents the majority party of that legislative body.
It’s up to the person who introduced the bill to convince the chair (and the rest of the committee) to discuss then pass the bill. If the committee has interest in such a bill, it will hold a public hearing that may or may not then lead directly to a vote. A hearing is a good sign the bill will receive a vote, but even that’s not a guarantee.
If the bill is defeated in the initial committee, the lawmakers can try to amend the bill or introduce a new proposal, but if it can’t get past this first stage, it’s unlikely even an altered proposal makes it very far.
Step 3: Money Committee
If the bill advances out of the first committee (often times called “reported favorably”), it faces an even tougher task to pass.
The original committee assignment is (usually) on somewhat favorable political grounds. It may then to need to pass other committees but ultimately will come to one or more powerful financial-related groups – committee that hold the real power in government.
This “money” committee is usually under the name “Appropriations,” “Ways and Means,” or “Finance” (some states have two or more of these). Their ultimate duty is to determine how money is spent. That makes them very influential in governments. They are typically made up of the most experienced, well-connected senior elected officials.
Gambling bills, like most others, fall under the jurisdiction of these types of committees. Gambling generates money via taxes. Legislators need to set the tax rates and determine how that money is spent.
If members of a monetary-related don’t like the tax rate – or where that money comes from – they can vote against the bill. They may decide not to take up the proposal even though it passed out of other committees.
Should the proposal pass these high-level committees, it can then go to the “floor” and potentially to a vote of the full chamber.
Step 4: Floor vote
A vote before the entire Senate or House is called a floor vote. Here every lawmaker, even those not on the original committee or the financial committee, has a chance to evaluate the bill and, typically, make comments before their fellow legislators.
But, again, just because a bill has made it to this stage it doesn’t guarantee a vote. The leader of the chamber, usually the Senate Majority Leader or Speaker of the House, may block the bill from being discussed further. It’s imperative that the bill’s sponsor have the backing of this leader or there’s a good chance it will never pass.
The good news for the bills that reach this level is that if it receives a floor vote it will likely pass. Lawmakers are usually good at “counting” votes and don’t waste time bringing up legislation that they know doesn’t have the support of the full legislative body.
Sometimes these votes can be a form of political gamesmanship to get lawmakers on the record for their stance on an issue, but usually for gambling bills, a floor vote means the sponsor has polled the full body and believes they will get enough votes.
In most state houses, the process of passing the bill is known as “third reading.” If a bill has majority support (or, in some cases, two thirds or three fifths supermajority support) it will be “read a third time” and considered passed.
Step 5: Repeat
In every state except Nebraska, which only has one legislative chamber, Steps 2-4 have to be repeated in the opposite body. If the bill is introduced in the House, it must pass the Senate or vice versa. Most states don’t have any requirement a bill will be introduced in one chamber or other. All (Nebraska excluded) require identical legislation to pass through both House and Senate.
Like in the first chamber, the second chamber has a chance to amend the bill in the committee process or, more rarely, on the floor. If the bill passes the second chamber with any changes, the original chamber must agree to the amendment or the bill will not be considered passed. Sometimes changes can help kill the bill if the amenders know the original chamber will not agree to such an alteration.
Wow: Cheers erupt in the Texas House as the measure to put sports betting to the voters squeaks by 100-42.
— Ryan Chandler (@RyanChandlerTV) May 11, 2023
It’s a constitutional amendment which required 2/3 of the House and now majority of voters. pic.twitter.com/bYykaQNPOk
Again, this makes passing legislation difficult. If any committee chair or legislative leader wants to stop the bill, they can effectively kill it through an amendment or by not bringing the bill up for a vote. This dynamic played out in Texas in 2023 when the Senate refused to discuss a sports betting bill that passed the state House with widespread bipartisan support.
Step 6: Governor
If an identical bill passes both House and Senate, it then goes to the president or, in the case of states, the governor. This presents another massive hurdle.
In most states, the governor has the right to veto the bill, which means prevent it from being passed. In many states, this veto can be overridden by supermajorities (usually three fifths or two thirds) but it is hard to reach that level of support required to override the veto. Politically, lawmakers in the governor’s party tend not to override a veto.
Vetoes are usually uncommon, especially when the governorship and state legislatures are controlled by the same party. Also, lawmakers usually know the governor’s position on an issue and tend not to submit bills that the governor opposes.
Assuming passage from both chambers and no veto, the bill has then become a law, an impressive – and rare – political accomplishment.
In many states, gambling bills passed by the legislature still require a constitutional amendment to be approved by voters. On a future ballot, voters then have to approve the amendment to the constitution that would allow the passed bill to be implemented.
(Bonus) Step 7: Implementation
The bill has now become a law. That doesn’t mean changes can be enacted right away.
For many bills, and especially gambling matters, there comes another level before changes can become enacted. That’s why when a bill, such as one that legalizes sports betting, passes it doesn’t mean bettors can start gambling right away.
All states have regulatory bodies of appointed, not elected, officials who take the passed law and then find ways to implement it. The bill is like a coloring book and the regulators help fill it in.
Depending on the state, regulators could determine which types of bets are permitted at sportsbooks, for example. Typically a sports betting bill will set the limit for sportsbooks in a state and the regulators then determine which operators will earn a license.
