Gambling in Texas

[7] Parimutuel wagering is allowed at horse and greyhound tracks, overseen by the Texas Racing Commission.

[17] Four major tracks operated in the state, until 1937, when betting was banned again at a special legislative session called by Governor James V.

[18] His efforts made little headway, and in protest, he proposed in 1969 to split the state in two, with horse betting legal in South Texas.

[19] Nonbinding statewide referendums to revive parimutuel betting were defeated in 1962,[20] 1968,[21] 1974,[22] and 1978,[23] with opposition led largely by Baptist churches.

[32] Courts sided with Texas, ruling that the Restoration Act that gave federal recognition to the Tiguas and Alabama-Coushatta in 1987 specifically forbade gambling, and took precedence over the IGRA.

[33] Despite the ruling, neither federal nor state authorities tried to close the casino,[34] and the tribe expanded operations further by adding slot machines in 1996.

[38] The Kickapoo casino opened in 1996, offering bingo, poker, its own blackjack variant, and electronic pull-tab dispensers designed to look and operate like slot machines.

[39] Bush questioned the legality of these "Lucky Tab II" machines at the same time as he was pushing for action against the Tigua casino, so the tribe filed a preemptive lawsuit,[40] and won a ruling that they qualified as class 2 devices.

[44] The tribe opened its "Entertainment Center" in November 2001,[45] with slots, blackjack, and poker,[46] even as the Tiguas were appealing their loss in court.

The machines are legal if they offer only non-cash prizes valued at less than $5,[58] but law enforcement officials say that illegal cash payouts are near universal.

[61] Eight-liners began to proliferate following passage of the 1993 "fuzzy animal law", which was intended to clarify that amusement games that award low-value prizes or tickets were legal.

[67] Two casino ships, the Pride of Mississippi and the Europa Jet, began operations out of the Port of Galveston later that year.

[70][71] Another boat, the Sea Palace, began offering cruises out of the Port of Freeport in January 1991,[72] but both it and the Pride closed for business in April, after federal prosecutors said they would enforce a 1948 law requiring gambling ships to visit a foreign port or sail for at least 24 hours.

[79][80] Casino Del Mar failed in January 2000, but then moved to Port Aransas under new management as the Texas Treasure.

[81] The Surfside Princess began excursions from Freeport in June, but in October was seized by its owner for failure to pay charter fees.

[85] The first Texas Treasure moved to Palm Beach in October 2002, replacing its sister ship;[86] for lack of business, it returned to Port Aransas a year later.

[87] It continued sailing until May 2008, when it closed for routine maintenance; after a legal dispute between its operator and its owner, it never returned to service.