When Will Sports Gambling Be Legal In Texas
Texas' law defines gambling as a game with 'partial chance' — a stricter definition than those in some other states. But a news conference to have him speak in favor of making fantasy sports. What is the legal minimum sports betting age in Texas? Texas residents must be at least 21 years of age to gamble online without the fear of prosecution.
Texans love their sports, so it only makes sense that Texashas joined more than half the country in introducing sports betting legislation.
Rep. Eddie Lucio III filed H 1275 to authorize sports betting operations, including mobile and online wagering, in the state.
Proposed legislation filed in early 2019 would allow for sports betting on pro and college sports, but with no more than 10 sports gambling licenses handed out in the state. Hawaii: Not legal, but. The debate continues to rage over whether or not gambling should be a legal way for adults to entertain themselves. Gambling can take many forms, ranging from traditional and online casino play and poker tournaments to playing bingo and betting on the ponies. The law says that gambling on other games of chances is against the law in Texas. Under Code Section PEN 47.01 et seq. 179e, gambling, or agreeing to win or lose money or something of value based on chance, or keeping a casino (other than one casino on Indian lands) is prohibited.
The bill would require a referendum amending the state constitution to be approved by voters in November. To that end, Lucio also introduced House Joint Resolution 61 seeking to amend the constitution so that “the legislature by law may authorize and regulate the placing of wagers on professional and collegiate sports.”
The resolution must be adopted by a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate in order to be placed on the ballot.
As one of the most sports-centric states in the country, Texas would be the second-largest sports betting market in the US, according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming forecasts.
Details of the Texas sports betting bill
Lucio introduced comprehensive legislation with the following provisions:
- Five total permits available, with two skins allowed per permit.
- An allowance for mobile and online wagering.
- Operators would be required to collect a 6.25 percent tax on handle, or total amount wagered. This tax would make it almost impossible to operate sports betting in the state, as it could very well outpace revenue generated.
- Addressing a concern of the Wire Act, the bill addresses the intermediate routing of electronic data, specifying that sports betting transmissions must initiate and be received within the state.
Probably no sports betting in Texas soon
Any expansion of gambling has generated intense opposition in the Republican-controlled legislature for years. Casino and Texas fantasy sports bills have a long history of going nowhere. State law does allow for bingo, lottery and horse betting. There have also been bills in the past, even before the fall of the sports betting ban.
This bill is being sponsored by a Democrat, which is reason enough that it won’t pass. Gov. Greg Abbott, another Republican, also is on record opposing any expansion of legal gambling in Texas.
In 2015, Abbott asked state lottery officials to stop collecting information about potential sports betting games, saying that “state laws on gaming are to be viewed strictly as prohibitive to any expansion of gambling.”
In other words, the Dallas Mavericks have a better chance of trading for Kristaps Porzingis than this bill has of … wait, bad example. The Houston Texans will win their first Super Bowl before a sports betting bill sponsored by a Democrat passes in Texas.
Only New Mexico offers sports betting of Texas’ neighboring states.
Texas is one of the strictest states when it comes to gambling and its laws can cover a wide variety of activities. Under Texas law, (Penal Code §47.02) gambling is considered a criminal offense if someone:
- makes a bet on the partial or final result of a game or contest or on the performance of a participant in a game or contest
- makes a bet on the result of any political nomination, appointment, or election or on the degree of success of any nominee, appointee, or candidate; or
- plays and bets for money or other thing of value at any game played with cards, dice, balls, or any other gambling device.
The law does provide for some exceptions such as participating in the state lotteryor placing bets on horse and greyhound dog races (sometimes referred to as pari-mutuel wagering). The law also provides for some affirmative defenses to prosecution:
- the actor engaged in gambling in a private place;
- no person received any economic benefit other than personal winnings; and
- except for the advantage of skill or luck, the risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all participants
Additional exceptions include if the person reasonably believed their conduct:
- was permitted under Chapter 2001, Occupations Code; (Charitable Bingo)
- was permitted under Chapter 2002, Occupations Code; (Charitable Raffles)
- was permitted under Chapter 2004, Occupations Code; (Sports Charity Raffles)
When Will Sports Gambling Be Legal In Texas Open
The first page of this guide will provide you with an overview of the Texas laws on gambling while the subsequent pages will discuss more specific topics like bingo, eight-liners and poker.