Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2345 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R20072 BEE-F
2	2	By: Guillen, Thompson of Harris, Longoria, H.B. No. 2345
3	3	Garcia
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to definitions for purposes of gambling criminal offenses
9	9	and the prosecution of the criminal offenses of gambling, gambling
10	10	promotion, and keeping a gambling place.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 47.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
13	13	Subdivision (2-a) and amending Subdivision (8) to read as follows:
14	14	(2-a) "Economic benefit" means direct winnings from a
15	15	game of skill or luck. The term does not include a benefit received
16	16	before a game commences or after payment of the direct winnings from
17	17	the game.
18	18	(8) "Private place" means a place to which the public
19	19	does not have access without a valid membership, special
20	20	invitation, or prior grant of permission[,] and excludes, among
21	21	other places, streets, highways, restaurants, taverns, nightclubs,
22	22	schools, hospitals, and the common areas of apartment houses,
23	23	hotels, motels, office buildings, transportation facilities, and
24	24	shops.
25	25	SECTION 2. Section 47.02(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
26	26	as follows:
27	27	(b) It is an exception to the application of [a defense to
28	28	prosecution under] this section that:
29	29	(1) the actor engaged in gambling in a private place;
30	30	(2) no person received any economic benefit other than
31	31	personal winnings; and
32	32	(3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the
33	33	risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all
34	34	participants.
35	35	SECTION 3. Section 47.03, Penal Code, is amended by adding
36	36	Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:
37	37	(a-1) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
38	38	(a)(1) that:
39	39	(1) the gambling place was located in a private place;
40	40	(2) the gambling place did not provide any economic
41	41	benefit other than personal winnings to any person; and
42	42	(3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the
43	43	risks of losing and the chances of winning at the gambling place
44	44	were the same for all participants.
45	45	(a-2) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
46	46	(a)(3) that:
47	47	(1) the thing of value was bet or offered in a private
48	48	place;
49	49	(2) the thing of value bet or offered did not provide
50	50	any economic benefit other than personal winnings to any person;
51	51	and
52	52	(3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the
53	53	risks of losing and the chances of winning the thing of value bet or
54	54	offered were the same for all participants.
55	55	SECTION 4. Section 47.04(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
56	56	as follows:
57	57	(b) It is an exception to the application of [affirmative
58	58	defense to prosecution under] this section that:
59	59	(1) the gambling occurred in a private place;
60	60	(2) no person received any economic benefit other than
61	61	personal winnings; and
62	62	(3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the
63	63	risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all
64	64	participants.
65	65	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
66	66	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
67	67	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
68	68	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
69	69	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
70	70	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
71	71	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
72	72	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
73	73	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
74	74	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
75	75	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
76	76	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.