Is Sports Betting Legal in Texas? 2026 Laws, Apps and Penalties

Last verified October 25, 2026 against current Texas law

Is sports betting legal in Texas? Not in any form that the state licenses. There are no Texas sportsbooks, no betting windows at stadiums, and no state agency that can approve a betting app. The apps you see advertised during games are licensed in other states, and Texas has no license for them to hold. This guide explains what the Penal Code says, which apps and contests are operating anyway, what the penalties are, and what could change when lawmakers return in January 2027.

Sports betting (online or retail)	Illegal statewide. No licensed sportsbooks.
Betting as a player	Class C misdemeanor, fine up to $500
Taking bets (bookmaking)	Class A misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail and a $4,000 fine
Legal Texas wagering	State lottery, pari-mutuel horse racing, licensed charitable bingo and raffles
Main laws	Penal Code ch. 47, Texas Constitution art. III, § 47
Next chance to change	Regular session begins January 12, 2027; a constitutional amendment needs two-thirds of each chamber plus a statewide vote

Is sports betting legal in Texas?

No. Texas treats a bet on a sporting event as gambling, and gambling is illegal unless a specific law carves out an exception. Under Penal Code § 47.01, a bet is an agreement to win or lose something of value solely or partially by chance. A wager on a football game fits that definition.

The core offense is in Penal Code § 47.02. It makes it a crime to bet on the partial or final result of a game or contest, or on a participant’s performance. It also covers bets on the outcome of an election or political appointment.

What sports betting apps are legal in Texas?

None are licensed. No app can offer a legal sportsbook in Texas, because the state has no regulator, no license process and no tax on sports wagering. This answers the common versions of the question: what betting apps are legal in Texas, what sportsbooks are legal in Texas, and which legal betting apps in Texas you can use. The honest answer is that there is no licensed one.

DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM and similar brands run legal sportsbooks in states that license them. They do not offer those products to bettors located in Texas. If you open DraftKings Sportsbook in Houston, the betting section is blocked, because the app uses location checks to stop bets from unlicensed states. DraftKings sued the attorney general in 2016 after his daily fantasy opinion.

Some offshore sites and unlicensed apps do accept Texas players, as we explain in our guide on whether Rainbet and other offshore casinos are legal in Texas. Being reachable on your phone does not make a site legal. Texas law looks at where the bettor is, and a bet placed from Texas is still a bet under Penal Code § 47.02. Offshore sites also have no Texas regulator to complain to if a payout never arrives.

Is online sports betting legal in Texas?

No. Online sports betting is illegal in Texas for the same reason retail betting is. The Penal Code does not distinguish between a bet placed on a phone and a bet placed with a bookmaker. In both cases you are betting on the result of a game.

If you travel to a state with legal mobile betting, you can bet there while physically inside that state. Apps check your phone’s location, so a bet from a Dallas hotel will not go through.

Is sports gambling legal in Texas? Penalties for bettors and bookies

Betting as a player is a Class C misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $500 and no jail time under Penal Code § 12.23. Running the betting is far more serious.

Conduct	Law	Offense	Maximum penalty
Betting on a game, contest or election	Penal Code § 47.02	Class C misdemeanor	$500 fine
Bookmaking, or holding bets for gain	Penal Code § 47.03	Class A misdemeanor	1 year in jail, $4,000 fine
Selling chances on game outcomes	Penal Code § 47.03	Class A misdemeanor	1 year in jail, $4,000 fine
Letting property be used as a gambling place	Penal Code § 47.04	Class A misdemeanor	1 year in jail, $4,000 fine
Owning gambling devices to further gambling	Penal Code § 47.06	Class A misdemeanor	1 year in jail, $4,000 fine

Class A limits come from Penal Code § 12.21. Prosecutors focus on people who run betting operations, not on someone who placed one bet, but a charge can still be filed.

Is betting legal in Texas at all?

Yes, in a few forms. Texas authorizes some wagering through other statutes, and it adds one narrow defense for private games:

• The Texas Lottery: Tickets are authorized under Government Code ch. 466. Lottery games are not sports bets.
• Pari-mutuel horse racing: The Texas Racing Act allows betting on races at licensed tracks. It does not allow betting on football, basketball or other sports.
• Charitable bingo and raffles: Licensed nonprofits can run these under Occupations Code chs. 2001 and 2002.
• Private games among friends: Penal Code § 47.02 gives a defense if the gambling happens in a private place, no one receives an economic benefit other than personal winnings, and everyone has equal risks and chances.

That last defense is narrow. It covers a poker night at someone’s house where the host takes no cut. It does not cover a sports pool where the organizer keeps a fee, and it does not cover an open bar that runs a betting board.

Daily fantasy, prediction markets and social sportsbooks

These products sit in a gray area, and the rules are less settled than for sportsbooks. They operate in Texas, but operating is not the same as being approved by the state.

Daily fantasy sports

Paid daily fantasy contests are open to Texans on several apps. In January 2016, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion (KP-0057) concluding that taking part in paid daily fantasy contests likely violates Penal Code § 47.02. The opinion also said traditional season-long leagues can qualify for the private-play defense in § 47.02(b).

An attorney general opinion is not a court ruling. No Texas court has decided the question, and Texas never passed a law that regulates daily fantasy sports. The result is that the contests continue, while the state’s official position from 2016 has not been withdrawn.

Prediction markets

Prediction market platforms such as Kalshi list sports contracts to Texans, and they say federal commodities law covers them. Courts have split. In August 2026 the Ninth Circuit, in a Nevada case, held that Kalshi’s sports contracts are not federally regulated “swaps,” so Nevada can enforce its gambling laws against them. The Third Circuit reached the opposite result in a New Jersey case and sided with Kalshi. New Jersey asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review that ruling in early September 2026.

Texas has taken a different path from many states. As of this verification date, the attorney general has not sued Kalshi, and Texas did not join the April 2026 brief of 38 state attorneys general, including D.C., supporting Massachusetts against Kalshi. On March 27, 2026, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick directed the Senate State Affairs Committee to study prediction market gambling before the 2027 session. The legal status of these contracts under Texas law is unresolved.

Real situations: what the law means for Texans

You run a Super Bowl squares board at work

If the organizer keeps nothing and everyone has equal chances, the private place defense may apply. If the organizer keeps a cut, or if a business profits, the organizer risks a gambling promotion charge, a Class A misdemeanor under Penal Code § 47.03.

You live in El Paso and cross into New Mexico to bet

Betting is legal in the state where you place it, as long as you are physically there and follow that state’s rules. New Mexico’s legal sports betting is limited to tribal casinos. Your winnings are yours, but you cannot bet from the Texas side of the line.

Myths vs. facts about sports betting in Texas

Myth	Fact
“If an app is in the App Store, it is legal in Texas.”	App stores list apps for many states. Legal sportsbooks block Texas locations, and unlicensed apps have no Texas approval.
“A bet is legal if the website is overseas.”	Texas law applies to the bettor in Texas, wherever the website is located.
“Texas legalized sports betting in 2025.”	No sports betting legislation advanced in the 2025 session.
“A city like Austin or Houston can allow betting.”	Gambling law is statewide. A city cannot license a sportsbook.

Texas sports betting timeline

Date	Event
January 19, 2016	Attorney General opinion KP-0057 says paid daily fantasy sports likely violate Texas gambling law
May 14, 2018	U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the federal sports betting ban in Murphy v. NCAA, letting each state decide
2023	HJR 102, a constitutional amendment to allow sports betting, passes the House. The Senate never takes it up.
2025	No sports betting legislation advances. HJR 134 (Harless) and HJR 137 (Geren) are filed but never advance out of committee.
March 27, 2026	Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick directs the Senate State Affairs Committee to study prediction market gambling
January 12, 2027	The next regular legislative session begins; the Legislature does not meet in regular session in 2026

Sports betting in Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Fort Worth

The rules are the same in every Texas city. Penal Code chapter 47 applies statewide, and no city or county can license a sportsbook or exempt its residents from the law. That includes cities with major pro teams. There is no betting window at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, NRG Stadium in Houston or any other Texas venue.

Sports betting in Texas compared with neighboring states

State	Sports betting	Notes
Texas	Illegal	No licensed operators
Louisiana	Legal in approved parishes	Retail began October 2021; online began January 28, 2022
New Mexico	Legal at tribal casinos	Retail only; no online betting
Oklahoma	Illegal	No state or retail sports betting
Arkansas	Legal	Retail since 2019; online since March 2022

Will Texas legalize sports betting?

Not before 2027, and the odds depend on the Texas Senate. Sports betting requires a constitutional amendment, which needs two-thirds of the House and Senate, followed by a majority vote of Texans. After the 2023 House vote, the Senate never took up the measure, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in December 2025 that he is “simply not there yet” on expanding gambling. He presides over the Senate and controls which bills reach a vote.

Watch the 2027 session, which starts January 12, 2027. If lawmakers pass an amendment, it would go to voters on a later ballot, and licensed betting would not start until the Legislature passes rules and the state sets up a regulator. We track changes in our Texas legal news section and update this page when the law moves.

Frequently asked questions

What sports betting apps are legal in Texas?

None are licensed by the state. Texas has no sports betting law, regulator or license process, so licensed sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel do not offer sports betting in Texas. Daily fantasy and prediction market apps operate, but their legal status is unsettled. Using an app does not protect you from a charge under Penal Code § 47.02.

Is online sports betting legal in Texas?

No. Penal Code § 47.02 makes it a crime to bet on the result of a game, and it does not exempt bets placed on a phone. The offense is a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500. You can legally bet online in another state only while you are physically inside that state.

Is DraftKings sportsbook legal in Texas?

No. DraftKings Sportsbook is not offered in Texas because the state has no license for it. DraftKings runs sportsbooks in states that license them. Texas bettors who open the app see the betting section blocked by location checks.

Is sports gambling legal in Texas for private bets between friends?

Only in narrow cases. Penal Code § 47.02 gives a defense when the betting happens in a private place, no one gets an economic benefit other than personal winnings, and all participants face equal risks. A bet in a public place, or a pool where the organizer keeps a cut, does not qualify.

Are daily fantasy sports legal in Texas?

The state’s position since 2016 is that paid daily fantasy sports likely violate Texas gambling law, but no court has ruled and no law regulates them. The contests operate in Texas today. Traditional season-long leagues with friends can qualify for the private-play defense in Penal Code § 47.02(b).

When could sports betting become legal in Texas?

The earliest chance is the legislative session that begins January 12, 2027. Lawmakers would need to pass a constitutional amendment by a two-thirds vote in each chamber, and Texas voters would then have to approve it. The Legislature would also need to create rules and a regulator before any sportsbook could open.

If this affects you: if you have been charged with a gambling offense, speak with a Texas-licensed criminal defense attorney before your first court date. If you have a dispute with a gambling operator, you can contact the Texas Attorney General’s consumer protection division, though offshore sites are hard to reach. This guide is general legal information, not advice for your situation. Read how we research every guide in our editorial policy, read whether gambling is legal in Texas, browse our gambling and betting guides, or report an error.