Bill Text: TX HB2996 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

Texas House Bill 2996

Introduced

Bill Title: Relating to definitions for purposes of gambling criminal offenses and the prosecution of gambling criminal offenses.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-18 - Filed [HB2996 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB2996-Introduced.html

	89R11591 BEE-F

	By: Guillen	H.B. No. 2996



	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to definitions for purposes of gambling criminal offenses
	and the prosecution of gambling criminal offenses.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 47.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
	Subdivision (2-a) and amending Subdivision (8) to read as follows:
	(2-a) "Economic benefit" means direct winnings from a
	game of skill or luck. The term does not include a benefit received
	before a game commences or after payment of the direct winnings from
	the game.
	(8) "Private place" means a place to which the public
	does not have access without a valid membership, special
	invitation, or prior grant of permission[,] and excludes, among
	other places, streets, highways, restaurants, taverns, nightclubs,
	schools, hospitals, and the common areas of apartment houses,
	hotels, motels, office buildings, transportation facilities, and
	shops.
	SECTION 2. Section 47.04(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(b) It is a [~~an affirmative~~] defense to prosecution under
	this section that:
	(1) the gambling occurred in a private place;
	(2) no person received any economic benefit other than
	personal winnings; and
	(3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the
	risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all
	participants.
	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.