PENN Entertainment to intensify Texas gambling lobbying after midterms win

PENN Entertainment will step up lobbying in Texas after Tuesday's midterm elections on 3 November 2026, the company said on a third-quarter earnings call. CEO Jay Snowden told analysts PENN — operator of two of Texas's three Class 1 thoroughbred racetracks — believes the political change creates a clearer path for expansion and the company is "ready to play offense".

Election outcomes that matter for Texas gambling

Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa unseated Republican Greg Abbott as governor of Texas, and Rep. Vikki Goodwin defeated Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a noted opponent of gambling expansion. Those leadership changes, combined with a flipped Texas House while the Senate remained Republican, removed what PENN described as some of the biggest political obstacles to broadened legal gaming in the state.

Texas currently limits legal gambling to retail lottery games, parimutuel wagering on racing, Indian gaming casinos, and charity bingo and raffles. PENN operates Sam Houston in Houston and Retama Park near San Antonio, the two Class 1 thoroughbred tracks it holds in the state. The third Class 1 track in Texas is owned by the Chickasaw Nation in the Dallas–Fort Worth market, which Snowden said maintains "a great relationship" with PENN.

PENN's strategy and public comments

On the Q3 call, Snowden said the company had long invested in Texas through its horse-racing assets and that it planned to increase its presence in Austin and elsewhere. He said PENN has a "great lobbying team, one of the best we have across the country" and that it will "be spending even more time than we typically do in the state of Texas. We will be ready for whatever comes out of Texas, and we think we are positioned as well, if not better, than really anybody in the sector if something does happen."

"We have been operating in the gaming space through horse racing in Texas for a long time. We have got two great assets there and we are ready to play offense," Jay Snowden said on the call.

Snowden acknowledged uncertainty — the company does not know yet what legislative package, if any, will appear — but described 3 November 2026 as "a good day and a good night for the sector in a lot of ways, and certainly a really good day and night for PENN specifically."

Gaming attorney Josh Kirschner, partner at Holland & Knight and deputy leader of its gaming practice, told SBC Americas he expects "a whole new breed of lobbyists" to enter the Texas debate, signalling that PENN will likely face new entrants and industry coalitions as the campaign for expanded gaming accelerates.

Legal and procedural barriers remain

Texas would still need a constitutional amendment to expand commercial gaming, together with a supermajority in the Republican-controlled Senate and a statewide referendum. Snowden said those are significant requirements but that the removal of key officials opposed to expansion changed the political calculus on the night of 3 November.

Broader US push: Ohio and the Midwest

Snowden framed PENN's midterms optimism as broader than Texas. He cited Ohio, where Democrat Amy Acton won the governor’s race and campaigned in favour of legalising online casino gambling, as the most salient near-term iGaming opportunity. Snowden noted the Ohio House and Senate remain Republican, but said PENN will engage Governor-elect Acton's team to discuss iGaming legislation.

He suggested that regulatory shifts in a clustered Midwestern group — Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio — could create a domino effect for iGaming elsewhere.

Financial context for PENN's push

PENN reported total revenue of $1.84bn in Q3 2026, a 7% increase from $1.72bn in Q3 2025. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA rose 46% from $194.9m to $284.0m. The company swung from a net loss of $865.1m in Q3 2025 to net income of $32.6m in Q3 2026.

Retail operations accounted for approximately $1.5bn of PENN's $1.84bn in Q3 revenue. PENN Interactive revenues grew to $348.4m for the quarter, with the company attributing the gains to Hollywood Casino online operations in the U.S. and growth in Canada. PENN launched Hollywood Casino and theScore Bet in Alberta in July 2026.

The digital business continued to run at negative adjusted EBITDA but reduced that deficit from $76.6m in Q3 2025 to $18.3m in Q3 2026.

"Governor Acton, who is now going to be in office at the start of the year, was definitely more open to iGaming expansion," Snowden said, referring to Ohio.

What PENN will focus on next

Snowden said relationships will be central to PENN's approach in Texas; the company believes its long-standing investments, assets and lobbying capability give it a competitive position if legislation or a ballot item emerges. PENN did not disclose a timetable for specific lobbying activities or any financial commitments tied to such efforts during the earnings call.

PENN's public statements make clear it will pursue both retail and digital expansion opportunities where political openings appear, with Texas and Ohio singled out as priority states in the wake of the 3 November 2026 midterms. Analysts and industry lawyers quoted in SBC Americas expect increased lobbying activity across the state as new stakeholders enter the debate.