Online Casinos in Texas

Texas Licenses No Online Casino

Texas does not license online casino play, and the position is not one of statutory silence. The Texas Constitution instructs the Legislature the other way: "(a) The Legislature shall pass laws prohibiting lotteries and gift enterprises in this State other than those authorized by Subsections (b), (d), (d-1), and (e) of this section." Those subsections cover charitable bingo, charitable raffles and the state lottery, and nothing else.

The operative criminal provision is Penal Code Chapter 47. A person commits an offence if he "(3) plays and bets for money or other thing of value at any game played with cards, dice, balls, or any other gambling device." The chapter defines what a gambling device is: "(4) “Gambling device” means any electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance not excluded under Paragraph (B) that for a consideration affords the player an opportunity to obtain anything of value, the award of which is determined solely or partially by chance, even though accompanied by some skill, whether or not the prize is automatically paid by the contrivance." The definition then names the games in question: it "(A) includes, but is not limited to, gambling device versions of bingo, keno, blackjack, lottery, roulette, video poker, or similar electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical games, or facsimiles thereof, that operate by chance or partially so, that as a result of the play or operation of the game award credits or free games, and that record the number of free games or credits so awarded and the cancellation or removal of the free games or credits". The offence is written without reference to medium, so playing a casino game over the internet is not treated differently from playing it in a room. No Texas statute licenses an online casino, and this site does not point readers at operators that are not licensed where they are.

Online Sports Betting Is Not Licensed Either

The same section of the Penal Code that reaches casino games reaches sports wagering: a person commits an offence if he "(1) 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". So online sports betting is not licensed in Texas either, and both rest on the same provision.

What Gambling Is Lawful in Texas

The lawful forms are the constitutional exceptions. The Legislature "by law may authorize and regulate bingo games conducted by a church, synagogue, religious society, volunteer fire department, nonprofit veterans organization, fraternal organization, or nonprofit organization supporting medical research or treatment programs." and the state lottery operates under the State Lottery Act in Chapter 466 of the Government Code. The minimum age attaches to the lottery rather than to casino play: "A sales agent or an employee of a sales agent commits an offense if with criminal negligence the person sells or offers to sell a ticket to an individual that the person knows is younger than 18 years of age." Promotion is a separate offence from play, under "Sec. 47.03. GAMBLING PROMOTION. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly does any of the following acts:", which then lists operating a gambling place, bookmaking and setting up a lottery for gain.

Sweepstakes Casinos

Sweepstakes casinos and real-money casinos are separate products and neither is a licensed version of the other. No Texas statute addressing dual-currency sweepstakes casinos specifically was found for this page, and no status is recorded for them here rather than inferring one from the real-money position or from what other states have done.