Gate News message: Texas Senate Deputy Governor and President Pro Tempore Dan Patrick has announced that he will include research on prediction markets, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain as priorities for the next legislative session. In his statement, Patrick said these interim tasks are intended to advance the Texas conservative agenda, with a focus on assessing whether activity in prediction markets could potentially circumvent Texas gambling restrictions—especially for markets related to elections.
Patrick also called for stronger coordination of federal regulations for cryptocurrencies and blockchain, and for an evaluation of crypto self-service kiosks operating in Texas. In recent years, Texas has been actively laying groundwork in the crypto space, including purchasing $5 million worth of Bitcoin for the first time in November 2025, making it the first U.S. state to establish a Bitcoin reserve.
Texas is not the only place reviewing prediction markets. Nevada and Arizona have filed lawsuits against platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, with concerns centered on legal compliance and preventing gambling loopholes. Analysts note that as crypto assets and prediction markets grow rapidly, state governments will face continued increases in regulatory pressure regarding related risks.
Among other legislative priorities, Patrick proposed studying the impact of artificial intelligence on Texas’s workforce and the importance of economic competitiveness. Google’s recent investment of billions of dollars in Texas to build data centers to support Anthropic’s operations shows that technology and digital assets are becoming an important part of the state’s economic strategy.
The Texas Legislature meets every two years. The next 140-day session will be held in January 2027. As regulatory issues for cryptocurrencies and prediction markets are added to the main agenda, markets and investors will closely watch Texas for further action on digital-asset legal frameworks and blockchain policy.
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