Shaheen’s bill counting fantasy sports prizes as a bet

The text as introduced · 463 words

89R11221 BEE-D

By: Shaheen
H.B. No. 4132

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the definition of a bet for gambling criminal offenses

purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 47.01, Penal Code, is amended by

amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (7-a) to read as

follows:

(1) "Bet" means an agreement to win or lose something

of value solely or partially by chance. A bet includes an offer to

win a prize, award, or compensation to participants of a paid

fantasy sports league. A bet does not include:

(A) contracts of indemnity or guaranty, or life,

health, property, or accident insurance;

(B) an offer of a prize, award, or compensation

to the actual contestants in a bona fide contest for the

determination of skill, speed, strength, or endurance or to the

owners of animals, vehicles, watercraft, or aircraft entered in a

contest; or

(C) an offer of merchandise, with a value not

greater than $25, made by the proprietor of a bona fide carnival

contest conducted at a carnival sponsored by a nonprofit religious,

fraternal, school, law enforcement, youth, agricultural, or civic

group, including any nonprofit agricultural or civic group

incorporated by the state before 1955, if the person to receive the

merchandise from the proprietor is the person who performs the

carnival contest.

(7-a) "Paid fantasy sports league" means a contest in

which:

(A) the value of any prize, award, or

compensation is established in advance of the beginning of the

contest or of a sporting event on which the contest is based;

(B) participants:

(i) pay a fee to participate in the contest;

and

(ii) assemble a fictional sports team

composed of actual professional or amateur athletes to compete

against fictional sports teams assembled by other participants for

the chance to win a prize, award, or compensation;

(C) any part of the contest's outcome is

determined by the actual weekly performances in sporting events of

the individual athletes on a participant's fictional sports team;

and

(D) a portion of the fees collected from

participants is retained by the person who offers the contest and is

not paid to participants as a prize, award, or compensation.

SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only

to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.

An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is

governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,

and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For

purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the

effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred

before that date.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.