This law was created to help prevent the proliferation of illegal gambling operations in the state.
In Texas, keeping a gambling place is a criminal offense. This includes operating game rooms with eight-liners or video slot machines that pay out cash prizes. While it’s legal to bet on horse races, buy a lottery ticket, or participate in office pools, basically any other semblance of gambling is against the law. Texas has some of the strictest gambling laws in the nation – and most confusing. This offense is commonly used to bust gaming rooms and mom-and-pop gas stations that have gambling machines that give out tokens or tickets that could be exchanged for something of value. Keeping a gambling place in Texas is the criminal offense of allowing someone to use premises for gambling. What is Keeping a Gambling Place in Texas?
