86R14507 ADM-F
 
  By: Moody H.B. No. 2303
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the definition of a bet for purposes 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
  amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (2-a) to read as
  follows:
               (1)  "Bet" means an agreement to win or lose something
  of value solely or partially by chance. A bet does not include:
                     (A)  contracts of indemnity or guaranty, or life,
  health, property, or accident insurance;
                     (B)  an offer of a prize, award, or compensation
  to the actual contestants or participants in a bona fide contest for
  the determination of skill, speed, strength, or endurance or to the
  owners of animals, vehicles, watercraft, or aircraft entered in a
  contest; [or]
                     (C)  an offer of merchandise, with a value not
  greater than $25, made by the proprietor of a bona fide carnival
  contest conducted at a carnival sponsored by a nonprofit religious,
  fraternal, school, law enforcement, youth, agricultural, or civic
  group, including any nonprofit agricultural or civic group
  incorporated by the state before 1955, if the person to receive the
  merchandise from the proprietor is the person who performs the
  carnival contest; or
                     (D)  an offer of a prize, award, or compensation
  to the participants in a fantasy or simulated game or contest.
               (2-a) "Fantasy or simulated game or contest" means a
  bona fide contest, reflecting the knowledge and skill of the
  participants, in which:
                     (A)  participants assemble a fictional sports
  team composed of actual professional or amateur athletes to compete
  against other fictional sports teams assembled by other
  participants for a prize, award, or compensation;
                     (B)  the value of any prize, award, or
  compensation is established in advance of the beginning of the game
  or contest;
                     (C)  the outcome of the game or contest is
  determined by the accumulated statistical performances of the
  individual athletes on a participant's fictional sports team; and
                     (D)  the outcome of the game or contest is not
  based solely on the score, point spread, or performance of a single
  professional or amateur team or athlete.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies 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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.