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Texas Penal Code - Section 47.01. Definitions

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§ 47.01. DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:                                     
		(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 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.
		(2)  "Bookmaking" means:                                                      
			(A)  to receive and record or to forward more than 
five bets or offers to bet in a period of 24 hours;
			(B)  to receive and record or to forward bets or 
offers to bet totaling more than $1,000 in a period of 24 hours;  or
			(C)  a scheme by three or more persons to receive, 
record, or forward a bet or an offer to bet.
		(3)  "Gambling place" means any real estate, building, 
room, tent, vehicle, boat, or other property whatsoever, one of the 
uses of which is the making or settling of bets, bookmaking, or the 
conducting of a lottery or the playing of gambling devices.
		(4)  "Gambling device" means any electronic, 
electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance not excluded under 
Paragraph (B) that for a consideration affords the player an 
opportunity to obtain anything of value, the award of which is 
determined solely or partially by chance, even though accompanied 
by some skill, whether or not the prize is automatically paid by the 
contrivance.  The term:
			(A)  includes, but is not limited to, gambling 
device versions of bingo, keno, blackjack, lottery, roulette, video 
poker, or similar electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical 
games, or facsimiles thereof, that operate by chance or partially 
so, that as a result of the play or operation of the game award 
credits or free games, and that record the number of free games or 
credits so awarded and the cancellation or removal of the free games 
or credits;  and
			(B)  does not include any electronic, 
electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance designed, made, and 
adapted solely for bona fide amusement purposes if the contrivance 
rewards the player exclusively with noncash merchandise prizes, 
toys, or novelties, or a representation of value redeemable for 
those items, that have a wholesale value available from a single 
play of the game or device of not more than 10 times the amount 
charged to play the game or device once or $5, whichever is less.
		(5)  "Altered gambling equipment" means any 
contrivance that has been altered in some manner, including, but 
not limited to, shaved dice, loaded dice, magnetic dice, mirror 
rings, electronic sensors, shaved cards, marked cards, and any 
other equipment altered or designed to enhance the actor's chances 
of winning.
		(6)  "Gambling paraphernalia" means any book, 
instrument, or apparatus by means of which bets have been or may be 
recorded or registered;  any record, ticket, certificate, bill, 
slip, token, writing, scratch sheet, or other means of carrying on 
bookmaking, wagering pools, lotteries, numbers, policy, or similar 
games.
		(7)  "Lottery" means any scheme or procedure whereby 
one or more prizes are distributed by chance among persons who have 
paid or promised consideration for a chance to win anything of 
value, whether such scheme or procedure is called a pool, lottery, 
raffle, gift, gift enterprise, sale, policy game, or some other 
name.
		(8)  "Private place" means a place to which the public 
does not have access, and excludes, among other places, streets, 
highways, restaurants, taverns, nightclubs, schools, hospitals, 
and the common areas of apartment houses, hotels, motels, office 
buildings, transportation facilities, and shops.
		(9)  "Thing of value" means any benefit, but does not 
include an unrecorded and immediate right of replay not 
exchangeable for value.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.  
Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 313, § 1, 2, eff. Sept. 1, 
1987;  Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 396, § 1, eff. June 14, 1989;  
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 774, § 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1993;  Acts 
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994;  Acts 1995, 
74th Leg., ch. 318, § 19, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Last modified: August 11, 2007