Texas Online Casinos
Given the uncertainty surrounding gambling laws in the US, seeing how these are applied in the state of Texas is truly interesting, more so noticing how an online casino in Texas is regulated, as well as observing the general positioning towards online gambling Texas has. Find out in what follows the legal aspects of this subject, the definitely forbidden types of gambling in this state and the clever ways that the many restrictions have been legally bypassed.
Best Texas Casino Sites
| Casino | Bonus | Website | Rating | Features | Deposit | ||
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| 1 |  | $2000 | Review |
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| 2 |  | $12250 | Review |
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| 3 |  | $12000 | Review |
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| 4 |  | $2500 | Review |
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| 5 |  | $1000 | Review |
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| 6 |  | $7777 | Review |
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| 7 |  | $3000 | Review |
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| 8 |  | $800 | Review |
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| 9 |  | $4000 | Review |
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| 10 |  | $5000 | Review |
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Contents
General Overview of Gambling Laws in Texas
The laws regarding this complex field have had a sinuous itinerary, always oscillating between permitting and completely discarding betting. Some of the latest decisions of law regulators have shifted the responsibility from the federal decision makers to the state-bound ones. As a result, each state was given a clean start for deciding how to handle the matter. In this context and given the obvious interest of Texans towards casinos, it was expected that the authorities would jump at the prospect and decide on the spot for a more liberal approach. Unfortunately, the current gambling laws are clearly against most gambling activities.
On the other hand, in the last couple of years, along with the technological development, the increasing access to information and given the shift towards a globalized market, the virtual component has come in the spotlight much more often. Given this and the idea mentioned above, the question of whether is online gambling legal in Texas makes perfect sense. The virtual casinos’ regulations follow the same lines as the general US online gambling rules. Although they don’t specifically state against, they do all in their power to discourage the phenomenon.
A More Detailed Look into the Legal Implications
The decisions are mostly based on the state’s Constitution, written in 1876, with a couple more current additions. This important law stipulates the meaning of a bet as being a win or loss of something valuable based entirely or just partially on chance.
The section that defines gambling states as illicit the betting for cash, or other sorts of valuables, regarding all games that involve guessing the partial or final results of a contest, the use of cards, dice, balls, or any other devices. Which leaves room for interpretations and nowadays it might mean almost any sort of gambling in land-based, as well as online casinos, for real money. As a piece of trivia and just to exemplify the actuality of the law, it has a paragraph that specifically asserts the interdiction to place bets on the results of any stage in a political election.
About Virtual Betting
The Texas online gambling laws refer to section 47.05 of the Texas Constitution, which deem illegal the entity that communicates gambling information or provides and maintains equipment that aids in further transmitting this type of data. It basically describes online slot machines and is in fact interpreted as prohibiting all other games that Texas online casinos might contain. It also targets, without a trace of doubt, the sports betting side of gambling, be it virtual or in a physical state.
Disallowed Gambling Options
Going from the legal haze to a more concrete approach, it’s important to find out what the forbidden options are, so the decision to gamble can be taken wittingly.
Online Gambling
The federal law known as UIGEA stipulates that it’s illegal to accept money or anything of value in the purpose of placing any sort of wagering. State laws take things even further by interdicting it on a more specific level. This makes online gambling in Texas completely forbidden in state-based virtual casinos. There are, however, ways to ensure that willing customers get their wagering needs taken care of, but these we’ll discuss further along.
Poker
Expectations, when talking about the state that has given the world probably the most famous style of play, the Texas Hold’em, were to find in this state, a booming poker-based industry. Instead, we get to wonder: where do people play this game and is online poker even legal in Texas? On account of making this well-beloved game inaccessible to Texans, for every refuses to license an online casino Texas sends a high number of people across borders, in Oklahoma, whose brick and mortar casinos thrive on Texan gamblers and their money.
Sports Betting
This subject is close to becoming taboo across the entire country, not just the state of Texas. Sports are seen as such an important part of society that there isn’t anyone brave enough to try and regulate sports gambling. The main reason behind the refusal of such practices is the fear of becoming prone to unlawful customs. Athletes would have the prospect of going for a swifter and grander winning, through affecting the game’s outcome, if they’ve previously wagered on a particular event happening. TX online casinos aren’t even allowed to hold fantasy sports tournaments, seeing how too much of their results are subjected to chance.
Opportunities to Gamble in Texas
As stated earlier, some ways to bypass the restrictions regarding gambling have been found, but without going in the dark area of committing illegalities. Here are the legal gamble options that the state of Texas is good with.
Lottery
Let’s start with the only type of betting on chance accepted nation-wide without a frown: the lottery. There are three versions of lottery wagering, going since 1991 as is the case with the State Lottery, through the second sort Mega Millions and the most recent Powerball. However, No Texas casinos’ online lottery is licensed, most likely due to the lack of the possibility of strict stateside control over this type of venue, as is the case with the land-based ones.
Online Casinos
Although for online gambling Texas feels no love, this only applies to the licensing of state-based virtual casinos. This situation led to the development of offshore gambling sites like the best RTG casinos, licensed in trustworthy countries where gambling licensing is permitted and even encouraged.
Thus, for example, if Bovada is the casino one set his eyes upon, there are two questions that need to be answered: is Bovada legal in Texas and is it a safe and legit casino to entrust my money with? First, players can access these sites without fearing any legal implications. There are some aspects to look out for, regarding the protection of financial and personal data such as: licensing, SSL encryption, safe ways to deposit and withdraw money. Another way to verify if a virtual casino is legit or not would be to play only on those sites that are on the recommended list of trusty casino review sites. But without casting aside some common sense safety verifications, online betting on those sites that accept Texans can be done stress-free.
- 100$ up to $3000
- Top 1 USA online casino
- Fast payouts
Land-Based Casinos
There is one place where to gamble in Texas in a brick and mortar establishment, and that is the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino Hotel. This Texas gambling casino is the only place 100 percent licensed and regulated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Poker Clubs
There are a handful of poker clubs that operate on the state’s territory, but their functioning is borderline legal. There are restrictions regarding the collection of rakes that these try to avoid by setting up other forms of collecting a fee, like having to pay for a seat at a table and such. It’s up to the local law enforcer to interpret the law and decree such a particular card room illegal or not. But if people still fancy these establishments, imagine the potential success online casinos in Texas could have.
Casino Cruises
Another form of gambling casinos in Texas are the casino cruises that take wagering enthusiasts 3 miles in the Gulf, in international waters, where it becomes legal. Some cruise ships even have a twice a day schedule.
Eight-liners
Or maquinadas, as they are also known, are the official Texas slot machines. Widely spread in most gas stations or local shops, they are the substitute for online slots for real money in Texas and are deemed legal because they offer different products as prizes, instead of cash.
Tracks
Dog and horse tracks add to the list of casinos in Texas. There is seven spread across the state, but as mentioned in a paragraph before, no Texas online casino is permitted to offer off-track betting on these races.
Bingo
This a true phenomenon, so widespread that it becomes part of the Texan culture. One can even play in bingo halls if under-aged. However, for Texas online bingo is still unattainable.
Social Gaming
Although frowned upon, social gaming is allowed and even online casinos TX offer demo games, as long as no valuable winning in any form is involved
Future Prospects
The Second Land Casino
There is another highly disputed land based establishment on the Texas casinos list, set in the Naskila Indian reservation, but there is an ongoing lawsuit towards shutting it down.
Future Developments in Legislation
Trying to make online gambling legal in Texas, there have been submitted three bills orientated towards legalizing poker games : in bingo halls, creating establishments for social poker and setting online poker Texas-based facilities
You Might Also be Interested in:
New Mexico online gambling
Oklahoma online gambling
Louisiana online casinos
Arkansas online casinos
Is it legal to access online casinos and gamble online in Texas?
The laws that regulate gambling online in the USA are the same that apply to online gambling in Texas. As long as it’s done on legally licensed websites, there’s no problem whatsoever.
What is the minimum gambling age?
The minimum gambling age in Texas depends on the type of games:
- 18 for the state lottery and bingo halls
- 21 for every other casino-type game
How safe is it to access online casinos in TX?
The security conditions of Texas online casinos must be ensured by the Licensing Authority, meaning that the same strict rules apply to every site in this domain, with proper periodical verification to ensure that regulations are still met.
What safe ways to deposit money in the online casino’s account are there?
As with most online casinos, Texas ones accept the better part of options for money depositing starting with bank transfers, e-wallets, credit cards or even Bitcoin transfers.
How can I withdraw winnings from an online casino?
Every Texas online casino takes some precautions when withdrawing money is involved, for better security against hackers, but the regular ways of bank transfer or e-wallet use are generally available, though they might take more time to finalize.
Additional Sources:
https://www.versustexas.com/gambling/
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/03/20/why-do-i-have-go-other-states-gamble-short-answer-you-dont/