This could end up pushing back the Texas betting efforts even more than what's expected. For years now, nothing but negative news has come in for the Lone Star State in terms of getting things over the line. Well, after two University of Texas employees were fired for placing bets, even more terrible news has come in. With that, Texas has been rocked by another betting scandal at the worst possible time.

That's because news has just broken that Brendan Sorsby, a football player for Texas Tech University, has checked himself into rehab for a gambling addiction. Not only that, reports have surfaced that Sorsby previously placed bets while he was on a different college team. The fact that he was also placing bets while living in Lubbock has countless people talking and not in a good way. It has taken the sports world by storm.

"We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help," Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said in a statement after this news dropped. "Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health."

Although sports betting is not legal in Texas, people have found ways to still place their bets. This includes going through bookies, using prediction markets and more. This is a growing concern for the state and this is of course only going to get brought up even more after this latest breaking news. Sports betting is on the rise, especially among young adults. This Sorsby update sheds more light on that, but not in a good way for Texas.

Governor Greg Abbott can't be happy over this latest development

It goes without saying, but Governor Greg Abbott can't be happy over this latest development. The Texas official, who is up for re-election this year for yet another term, has said several times that he's not ready to move forward with legal sports betting. Because of this, there's a ton of concern among Texas sports fans that if he does get elected once again, another delay for legalization will arrive.

Having said that, one of Abbott's main concerns with sports betting arriving in Texas has been that it could lead to gambling addiction, especially for young men and women. Because of that, a college player checking himself into rehab and being involved in a sports betting issue like this will do nothing to calm Abbott's worries. If anything, he could use this as an example as to why legal betting can't arrive in the near future. He also has every single Texas citizen in mind too.

"I want to make sure that every mom and pop or grandma or somebody who doesn't have a lot of income is not able to go down to a local 7-Eleven or convenience store and lose money they need to be spending on food or clothing or other items like that," Abbott said not long ago. "And so, we need to make sure that if there is anything like this that happens, that expands gaming, that we're not leading people down to a pathway of poverty."

The worry for Abbott and other Republicans indeed is addiction, as we're seeing a rise in issues across the country. It's up in the air what the next step will be for Texas, but there has been a ton of pessimism surrounding the efforts of late. With so many betting scandals too, it's clear the problem isn't going away soon.

Sports betting and casino betting go hand-in-hand here

It's not just wagers on athletes, though, as sports betting and casino betting go hand-in-hand here. There are only a handful of authorized casinos options in Texas on tribal lands, as things as a whole are not permitted. The hope is that more casinos will come soon, but Abbott also has his concerns there.

While everyone waits, Kalshi and others are in operation, offering futures bets for sports, plus casino-style games. We've previously talked about the lawsuits against the prediction markets, but there are no new updates there - things are still a bit fluid and discussions are ongoing.

However, while they are still in operation, people can bet on sports and get a taste of the casino-type of action if they're not close to an in-person outlet. Abbott and Co. have been all over this, hoping things get limited even more in the future. The pressure to do so may reach a new level because of this sports betting drama, which complicates a whole lot. It also highlights the problems that Texas has been going through as a whole.