Gambling laws in Texas

Tristan

Tristan

Big 'Bumpin'
Silver Member
Does anyone know the law regarding gambling on pool in Texas? I was under the impression that because pool is a skill game, it is legal to play for money as long as only the participants in the game are the ones betting.

However, the other day a police officer told me that playing pool for money is illegal. :confused:

Is it possible that gambling laws in Tx vary from city to city? It was a Richardson officer who told me is was illegal...

Thanks,
 
So, from reading this, it looks like indeed gambling on pool games is illegal in any situation. :( Are there any lawyers out there who can tell me if I'm reading this right?
 
You don't have to advertise that you're gambling

I'm not an attorney, so take this with a grain of salt. If you enjoy gambling on your game, do so, but be discreet about it. You don't have to be obvious exchanging money. I rather doubt if the police are going to spend the time or energy to set you up to bust you for putting a few bucks on your game, or someone elses, for that matter, as long as you're not being really obvious. You should be discreet with your money anyway, unless you want to be robbed in a parking lot. Go to the wrong place and flash a bunch of $100 bills and wait for a brick to hit you on the back of the head as you get into your car. Just play it cool and you'll be fine.
Not to offend, but there are people who will not do anything that is not 100% legal. If you're one on those, that's cool, and just stop gambling.:D
 
Tristan said:
Does anyone know the law regarding gambling on pool in Texas? I was under the impression that because pool is a skill game, it is legal to play for money as long as only the participants in the game are the ones betting. ... ,
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When I lived in San Antonio, it was illegal for a pool tournament to offer cash prizes. This was in the same era when you could get 25 years for marijuana possession. You had to go outside the city limits to find a cash tournament, and I'm not sure where for a joint.

I tried to read over the law for California, but there sure are a lot of words there. I couldn't find a direct reference to billiards, so I'll guess it's not mentioned specifically. One part seems to say holding bets on a pool game is illegal, while another says that a contest of skill is not covered. It's very clear to me that I am not a lawyer.

In the 1960's a friend of mine got busted for wagering on himself in a pool game. The cops did the bust because a lot of drugs and other stuff were going on the hall (Blue Cue, Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley), not because they had anything specific against two-player wagering. The local judge threw out the case ruling that pool is a game of skill, not chance. Knowing my friend, the other player probably had no chance.
 
Bob Jewett said:
In the 1960's a friend of mine got busted for wagering on himself in a pool game. The cops did the bust because a lot of drugs and other stuff were going on the hall (Blue Cue, Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley), not because they had anything specific against two-player wagering. The local judge threw out the case ruling that pool is a game of skill, not chance. Knowing my friend, the other player probably had no chance.
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Could it be at least a misdemeanor in California if two players gamble in a pool game and both players don't have any skills whatsoever ? :)

Btw, is sidebetting allowed then also ? Probably not...
 
I had trouble in South Padre Island, TX when it came to gambling at the tournament they hold every year. A police officer gave us a warning and said we couldn't gamble. We had to trust each other to pay in the parking lot after we were done. Not exactly the best thing to do.

I've always thought it was legal for the players to gamble because it is a game of skill. I thought it was just illegal to side bet. Guess I was wrong. I agree with crice that you just have to be discreet about things.

Sarah
 
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sarahrousey said:
I had trouble in South Padre Island, TX when it came to gambling at the tournament they hold every year. A police officer gave us a warning and said we couldn't gamble. We had to trust each other to pay in the parking lot after we were done. Not exactly the best thing to do.

I've always thought it was legal for the players to gamble because it is a game of skill. I thought it was just illegal to side bet. Guess I was wrong. I agree with crice that you just have to be discreet about things.

Sarah
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We need to talk... E-mail or PM me when we meet sometime later on this week.
 
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sarahrousey said:
I had trouble in South Padre Island, TX when it came to gambling at the tournament they hold every year. A police officer gave us a warning and said we couldn't gamble. We had to trust each other to pay in the parking lot after we were done. Not exactly the best thing to do.

I've always thought it was legal for the players to gamble because it is a game of skill. I thought it was just illegal to side bet. Guess I was wrong. I agree with crice that you just have to be discreet about things.

Sarah
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We were gettin ready to call the Police on you when you came to San Antonio and busted everbody. LOL

Texas can be tough on gambling. The cops raided Bananas years ago and arressted and fined about 6 people. Plus, I was in a ring game in Houston and fined $105.

Congratulations Sarah. Keep it up.
 
sarahrousey said:
(snip)
I've always thought it was legal for the players to gamble because it is a game of skill. (snip)

Sarah
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And I thought it was OK because it is MY money and I can do whatever I choose to do with it! Silly me.

So if it is not "legal" to use my money as I choose, then just who the hell really owns the money? The control freaks, that's who...even though they never earned it. THAT is the real crime, folks.

Thank God they stopped this evil betting in its tracks!:rolleyes: Oh, that's right, they didn't stop anything, but simply automatically made everyone involved a "criminal." :mad: How convenient.

Another govt swipe at this wonderful game. :mad:

Jeff Livingston
 
chefjeff said:
And I thought it was OK because it is MY money and I can do whatever I choose to do with it! Silly me.

So if it is not "legal" to use my money as I choose, then just who the hell really owns the money? The control freaks, that's who...even though they never earned it. THAT is the real crime, folks.

Thank God they stopped this evil betting in its tracks!:rolleyes: Oh, that's right, they didn't stop anything, but simply automatically made everyone involved a "criminal." :mad: How convenient.

Another govt swipe at this wonderful game. :mad:

Jeff Livingston
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Ya could see this post coming a mile away.

Dave
 
I'm not sure about Texas, but I've seen gambling issues come up here in mid-MO before. The Division of Liquor Control, which I believe is part of the Dept. of Public Safety, has liquor control agents that will occasionally do "field work". Their focus is not so much on the individuals doing the gambling as it is on the liquor-serving business that is allowing the gambling. The restriction, as I understand it, applies to gambling that occurs within a specific area of a business that serves alcoholic beverages. I'm not sure what the range of penalties is, but I believe it often includes a temporary revocation of the establishment's liquor license. This basically shuts a pool hall or bar completely down for that period of time, and can obviously be very costly to them. Businesses that have had problems with Liquor Control in the past will usually pressure the patrons to not gamble, or at least to keep it on the dl if they do gamble. It must more of a concern here in central MO, though, possibily due to the proximity of the state offices, because I have been to pool halls in other parts of the state where gambling is openly displayed, and the owners say nothing about it.
 
Years ago in San Antonio, I ran Galaxy Billiards. I was giving a lesson to another player on safety play. When we finished up, he reached in his wallet and pulled out a $20 bill and laid it on the table. I picked it up and all of a sudden, some guy rushes up and grabs me by the wrist and says, "Police, hold it!" Another guy grabs the guy I was giving the lesson to.
Ends up, Vice squad! They write us both a ticket for gambling which was a misdemeanor in SA. We try to explain the situation about the lesson but they're having none of it.
Then, when the cop is filling out my ticket, he asks me where I work and I say, "Here at the pool room." He goes bugeyed like he just caught John Dillinger and started writing another ticket. I ask him what that's for and he tells me, it's for gaming which is a felony.
Under Texas law, if you work in an establishment and you are gambling or have knowledge of gambling, it is consdered gaming or promoting gambling which is a felony. In our case, if I was convicted, it could have cost us our liquor license.
The short of it is, three trips to court over a year and a half, $2000 in lawyer's fees and it was finally thrown out.
The original reason why the vice squad came in the first place was a few days before the bust, the guy that ran our snack bar ended up beating some guy out of his lunch money ($15) and the guy went home and complained to his WIFE. You can figure the rest from there.
Oh, and the guy I gave the lesson to was fined $250 for comtempt. All he did was call the judge a m*****f****r for fining him $25 for gambling!

Just be discreet and don't throw the money on the table!
 
I have some friends who run some poker games where they play for cash. So they looked into the laws here in Georgia pretty closely. Now of course this is Georgia and not Texas but could give some insight.

Basically it went along the lines of "Gambling is legal if as long as there is no rake taken in and you are having bets of a "Friendly" nature". That is where it gets tricky. Who defines a "Friendly" wager.

I do think it the tolerance of gambling runs from City to City. At some pool halls here in Atlanta I see very open gambling. People exchanging large amounts of cash in the open. But Atlanta doesn't concentrate too hard on vice crimes. I see people walk down the street smoking a joint. Massage Parlors (AKA Prostitution houses) operate and advertise in mainstream papers to the point wehre it is very obvious as their intent.

But in the town I live in it is illegal to have a pool table in a place that serves Alcohol. I'm guessing that was put in place to prevent pool halls from coming in because people might "Gamble". But I think there is no point since no pool hall is going to open where they can't serve Liquor (We are a dry county) but only beer and wine. And on Sunday you can't serve any alcohol at all on top of not being allowed to smoke in a public building.

Jeff. Love the new Avator.
 
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Tristan said:
Does anyone know the law regarding gambling on pool in Texas?
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**This is in no way to be construed as legal advice**
**It's just the way I read the statutes**
The statutes indicate that betting is illegal.
§ 47.02. Gambling
(a) A person commits an offense if he:
(1) makes a bet on the partial or final result of a game or contest or on the performance of a participant in a game or contest;​
There is a defense to the charge that no person got anything but personal winnings, but the "betting" must take place in private - it appears that a pool hall is NOT in private:
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the actor engaged in gambling 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.
​

(8) "Private place" means a place to which the public does not have access, and excludes, [] taverns, nightclubs, [] and the common areas of [] shops.​

Without more research, it looks like betting on pool can get you a Class C misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine up to $500. (I think).

-td
 
smittie1984 said:
(snip)

Jeff. Love the new Avator.
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Thanks, smittie...I found it when doing research on the 2nd. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Jeff Livingston
 
My life of crime

Bob Jewett said:
When I lived in San Antonio, it was illegal for a pool tournament to offer cash prizes. This was in the same era when you could get 25 years for marijuana possession. You had to go outside the city limits to find a cash tournament, and I'm not sure where for a joint.

I tried to read over the law for California, but there sure are a lot of words there. I couldn't find a direct reference to billiards, so I'll guess it's not mentioned specifically. One part seems to say holding bets on a pool game is illegal, while another says that a contest of skill is not covered. It's very clear to me that I am not a lawyer.

In the 1960's a friend of mine got busted for wagering on himself in a pool game. The cops did the bust because a lot of drugs and other stuff were going on the hall (Blue Cue, Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley), not because they had anything specific against two-player wagering. The local judge threw out the case ruling that pool is a game of skill, not chance. Knowing my friend, the other player probably had no chance.
Click to expand...

is the sum total if getting busted by the Vice Squad in San Diego in 68-69
for a $2 9 Ball game when I was in the Navy. I was playing a friend of mine off the same ship trying to decide what we were going to do for the rest of the night. We were turned over to the Shore Patrol, and put into the tank for 3 hours until being returned to our ship. If I remember correctly, I got 2 weeks restriction to the ship for this obviously blatant offense.
 
Snapshot9 said:
is the sum total if getting busted by the Vice Squad in San Diego in 68-69
for a $2 9 Ball game when I was in the Navy. I was playing a friend of mine off the same ship trying to decide what we were going to do for the rest of the night. We were turned over to the Shore Patrol, and put into the tank for 3 hours until being returned to our ship. If I remember correctly, I got 2 weeks restriction to the ship for this obviously blatant offense.
Click to expand...

That's probably what they told you to keep you from getting drunk and chasing women. I'm sure it's was an issue of national security.
 
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