Texas online casinos: Play legal casino games online in Texas

Oregon Live

15 April 2024

Texas online casinos: Play legal casino games online in Texas

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Texas law prohibits real money online casino gambling. However, social and sweepstakes casinos remain legal options for playing online slots and casino games in Texas.

These online casinos operate like sweepstakes contests in compliance with Texas laws. It allows them to offer casino-style gaming and the chance to win cash prizes and gift cards similar to an experience offered by traditional online casinos.

Below see a list of top sweepstakes casinos, which are legal in most states (excl. WA, MI, and ID). All have casino-style games which you can play for free or redeem cash prizes.

Texas isn’t even thinking about legalizing online casinos right now. However, you can currently play online slots and casino games at the following sweepstakes and social casinos in Texas.

WOW Vegas presents the next best thing to a Las Vegas casino experience—but free and online. There are more than 700 Vegas-style slots and casino games, and no download is required.

Most games are the same ones you can play at live casinos in Vegas. Paris Hilton is a spokesperson for WOW Vegas, adding to the operation’s glamorous vibe.

Best feature: The Star System loyalty program lets you earn Stars with every Sweepstakes Coin bet, move up, and earn rewards, monthly bonuses, and special offers.
Games available: 700+ Vegas-style slots and casino games
Downloadable app: No
Prize redemption options: Cash prizes
Minimum redemption: 100 Sweeps Coins for a $100 cash prize via Visa/ Mastercard/Skrill/Trustly
Best quote from Reddit: “It’s an excellent casino, very legit, but it takes a while to actually get your money.”
Why pick WOW Vegas over others? It brings the Las Vegas casino experience online.
Cons: There’s typically a five-day hold on cashouts.

McLuck offers the chance to play online slots and casino games from top developers. The games (designed by Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, and Playson) are the same as those at top real money online casino apps.

You’ll also find live dealer games at McLuck, and no download is required to play.

Best feature:
Games available: 500+ online slots and casino games from top developers
Downloadable app: Yes
Prize redemption options: Cash prizes and digital gift cards
Minimum redemption: 10 SC for a $10 gift card or 75 SC for a $75 cash prize
Best quote from Reddit: “I think it’s a decent site, never had any negative experiences.”
Why pick McLuck over others? It has the same slots and games as real money online casinos.
Cons: There’s a lengthy hold and verification process on cashouts.

High 5 Casino has the most extensive selection of online table games at any social casino. Plus, it hosts exclusive titles, live dealer games, and another 450+ online slots from in-house and top casino game developers. No download is required.

Best feature: The Club High Five loyalty program allows you to earn points, move up the tiers, and unlock rewards.
Games available: 465+ online slots, table games, and live dealer games
Downloadable app: Yes
Prize redemption options: Cash prizes and gift cards
Minimum redemption: 50 SC for a $50 gift card or 100 SC for a $100 cash prize
Best quote from Reddit: “High 5 is the best. Great games, fast cashout. They are legit.”
Why pick High 5 over others? Great in-house games and others from top developers
Cons: ID verification can slow prize delivery.

Pulsz has the most extensive and varied game library of any sweeps or social casino. No download is required, and with 700+ sweepstakes casino games, the choices are seemingly endless.

Best feature: Climb VIP levels to claim additional coins with every purchase.
Games available: 700+ online slots and casino games
Downloadable app: Yes
Prize redemption options: Cash prizes and gift cards
Minimum redemption: 10 SC for a $10 gift card or 100 SC for a $100 cash prize
Best quote from Reddit: “Pulsz is the only online casino I’ve really won at.”
Why pick Pulsz over others? The game library is more extensive than any other sweeps or social casino.
Cons: Skrill is the only method available that delivers redemptions in under 24 hours.

Chumba offers a complete social casino experience with a varied game library. Its approximately 150 games include video poker and progressive jackpot slots. No download is required, and daily sign-in bonuses are available.

Best feature: Promotions and bonuses, including daily sign-in bonuses
Games available: 150+ online slots, table games, and video poker
Downloadable app: Yes
Prize redemption options: Cash prizes and gift cards
Minimum redemption: 10 SC for a $10 gift card or 100 SC for a $100 cash prize
Best quote from Reddit: “It is legit, and I’m very lucky apparently.”
Why pick Chumba over others? You’ll find a complete social casino experience with Chumba.
Cons: There are fewer games than at some other social casinos.

LuckyLand is primarily an online slots site with more than 100 titles available. However, a few online table games are available, including blackjack. No download is required, and LuckyLand’s minimum prize redemption is only $1.

Best feature: Every slot at LuckyLand is exclusive to the site.
Games available: 100+ online slots and a limited number of casino games
Downloadable app: Yes
Prize redemption options: Cash prizes and gift cards
Minimum redemption: 50 SC for $50
Best quote from Reddit: “Don’t worry about LuckyLand. They are good and legit.”
Why pick LuckyLand over others? They’re dedicated to slots and have 100+ exclusive titles.
Cons: Limited table games

With safe, legitimate sweeps and social casinos available, why would you want to play at illegal online casinos in Texas? You’ll be putting your money at risk if you do.

Sweeps and social casinos require ID verification to offer you legitimate banking options. It’s an extra step, but it guarantees the security of your money.

Popular offshore online casinos like Bovada and Ignition are often based in Central American and Caribbean countries and, therefore, are beyond the purview of any US regulators or your legal recourse.

Offshore casinos have been known to delay payments and block withdrawal attempts. In contrast, sweeps and social casinos offer quick and easy redemptions through legitimate banks and payment providers.

Online casinos are not yet legal in Texas. The Texas Legislature is considering expanding gambling in the state in 2024, but only for commercial casinos and online sports betting, not online casinos.

That said, you can play online slots and table games at top online sweeps and social casinos in Texas. These operations comply with Texas sweepstakes laws by allowing you to play for free and redeem certain winnings for cash prizes and gift cards.

Outside of sweeps and social casinos, daily fantasy sports (DFS) is the only other type of online gaming available in Texas. Players typically pit teams of real-life athletes against one other and compete in multi-entry contests for pieces of a prize pool.

The Texas state attorney said in 2016 that DFS was gambling. FanDuel tried to settle, and DraftKings fought the opinion in court. One DFS bill has since failed, leaving DFS in a gray area in Texas where sites like DraftKings and FanDuel remain available for DFS.

There are three tribal land-based casinos offering live gambling in the state. Plus, Las Vegas Sands is behind a political action committee pushing the proposals to expand gambling in the state.

If online gambling is ever considered in Texas, these organizations will likely have a say in it.

There are no states neighboring Texas that have online casinos. Louisiana and Arkansas allow online sports betting, but Oklahoma and New Mexico do not.

The only states with state-licensed or state-run online casinos are Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.

The difference between real money online casino apps and sweeps or social casinos is all about the currency. Real money online casinos let you gamble directly for cash. You can’t do that at sweeps or social casinos.

Instead, you need to accrue Sweepstakes Coins or Sweeps Coins (SC). Any additional coins you win playing with the SC are redeemable for cash prizes and gift cards.

Fortunately, no purchase is required, and there are several ways to get Sweepstakes or Sweeps Coins for free. You can get SC as a bonus when you buy Gold Coins (a freeplay currency with no cash value) or through promos, bonuses, contests, and mail-in requests.

The currency system at social casinos is a hoop to jump through, but it allows you to play online slots and casino games and win cash prizes and gift cards in states that do not have real money online casinos, including Texas.

The best reason to play with sweeps and social casinos is that they’re safe and secure. These legitimate operations comply with Texas sweepstakes laws and the security demands of the banks and payment processors that work with them.

That’s how you know your money is safe. Offshore online casinos aren’t obeying all laws and are actively working around banks and payment processors, not with them. That’s how you know your money is not safe.

There are three tribal casinos in Texas. Here’s a look.

1980: The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows tribes to build casinos and bingo halls on reservation land.
1993: The Tigua tribe of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo opens the Speaking Rock high-stakes bingo hall, eventually offering poker and “Tigua 21″ player-banked blackjack.
1996: Slot machines are added to the Speaking Rock high-stakes bingo hall completing its transition into the Speaking Rock Casino.
1996: The Kickapoo Casino opens with bingo, poker, player-banked blackjack, and electronic pull-tab dispensers that operate like slots.
1999: Republican Governor John Cornyn files a federal lawsuit against the Tigua tribe and Speaking Rock Casino.
November 2001: The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe opens an Entertainment Center with slots, blackjack, and poker.
February 2002: Speaking Rock Casino shuts down.
July 2002: Gov. Cornyn succeeds in closing the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe’s Entertainment Center via the courts.
October 2004: The Kickapoo Casino reopens as the new Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino, a 100,000-square-foot casino and the only Texas casino authorized under federal tribal gaming law.
2015: The National Indian Gaming Commission says the Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta tribes can legally conduct gaming. The Alabama-Coushatta reopen the Entertainment Center as Naskila Casino in Livingston. The Tiguas convert their sweepstakes parlor into a casino—the Speaking Rock Entertainment Center in El Paso.
2017: The state files a lawsuit to shut down the tribal casinos.
2022: The Supreme Court rules that the tribal casinos can remain open.
April 2024: The Texas House State Affairs Committee advances two gambling expansion proposals, seeking to let voters decide whether to legalize commercial casinos and bring online sports betting to Texas.

You must be at least 18 to buy lottery tickets in Texas and 21 to bet on horse races. The Texas Lottery Commission and Texas Horse Racing Commission have regulatory authority over these types of gambling. Native American tribes regulate tribal casinos; no state compacts have been negotiated.