Texas Online Casinos – An Inside Look At The Lone Star State’s Casino Gambling Industry
Texas is famously conservative, especially when it comes to gambling. There is absolutely no “Vegas-style” gambling in Texas, and there’s only a single Texas Indian casino operating Class II amusements. However, TX online casinos are legal and safe to use – and offer real-money versions of all the slots and table games you expect – provided they’re located outside of both TX and USA borders.
If you want to limit your gambling to in-state vendors, you’re stuck with the Texas Lottery, in-person horse racing betting, and the single Class II Texas Indian casino in Eagle Pass. You might also find a few low-stakes Texas bingo halls and charitable gambling venues. But for real gambling – including Texas slots, blackjack, video poker, roulette, and more – the sites recommended here are the only game in town.
★ Top Rated Online Casino For Texas Players In 2024
Bovada Casino – Payouts Are Bigger In Texas!
To us, Bovada LV has established itself over the years as the number-one online casino in Texas, especially for first-time gamblers. That’s because – in addition to Bovada Casino’s hundreds of slot machines, electronic online table games, and live-dealer casino games – Bovada is also a fully fledged TX online sportsbook and online poker room. The venue even has an international racebook for horseplayers!
New players who sign up at Bovada today can take advantage of the site’s best-in-class online casino welcome bonus worth up to $3000, with an extra $750 on top of that if you deposit in Bitcoin or another crypto betting option!
- Established in 2011
- Operates out of Costa Rica
- 250+ RNG online casino games
- 30+ online live casino tables
- Bitcoin + altcoins accepted
- Bovada Vouchers + Bovada MatchPay
- 1 account for Casino, Sports, Poker, Ponies
- All state residents welcome (18+)
Is It Legal To Play Online Casino Games For Real Money In TX As Of 2024?
Yes, it is! However, it’s only legal to gamble at online casinos in Texas if the TX casino site you’re using is based outside of both TX and USA borders. Inside the state, domestic casinos are strictly prohibited (with the exception of one Class II Texas Indian casino that offers no real TX slot machines or proper casino table games).
But because Texas gambling laws and casino laws apply only to local operators and don’t actually target individual gamblers, it’s legal and safe to use these venues freely. Additionally, US federal gambling laws work the same way, targeting only unauthorized US-based operators and not players themselves.
As such, while casino gambling in Texas is not in the cards, you can hold ‘em and fold ‘em at legit offshore TX casino websites without sending yourself up the river.
Legal Gambling Age In Texas
The legal Texas gambling age varies depending on the type of gambling in question. To play the TX Lottery or participate in charitable TX bingo or raffles/pulltabs, the minimum age is 18 and up. If you want to bet on horses in TX or play the Class II “casino” games at the Kickapoo Indian casino, you have to be 21 or older.
Of course, when gambling in Texas online, most legitimate betting sites only require their members to be 18+ to access all forms of betting, from legal online casino gambling and sports betting to online poker, horse racing betting, and more.
Are There Legal TX Online Casinos That Are Safe To Play At?
Yes! However, there’s a big difference in legal online gambling in Texas and legal safe online gambling in Texas. After all, even the most unscrupulous international TX betting sites might be “legal” in the technical sense, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe to use.
If you want to ensure that your experience with online betting in the state won’t leave you high and dry, it’s important that you stick with only the most trusted legit online casinos in the business. Every site featured here fits the bill, as these reputable TX casinos abide by all offshore gambling best practices to ensure you get all of the following:
Texas Mobile Casinos
You might hit up your local Texas roadhouse from time to time, but we’re guessing you hit the road in Texas a lot more than that. If that’s the case – especially if you’re a gambler like native son Kenny Rogers – you probably wish you had a way to gamble on the go. Well, if you’re a member at one of the legit online casinos in Texas we recommend, you do!
These sites are all 100% mobile-optimized to work perfectly on any size, make, or model of iPhone, iPad, or Android. And because these mobile TX experiences are web-based, there’s actually no Texas casino app to download and nothing to update.
As long as you’ve got an Internet-connected device with a modern web browser, you’ve always got access to the best casinos in Houston, the best casinos in Dallas, the best casinos in Austin, the best casinos in San Antonio, the best casinos in El Paso, and the best casinos literally everywhere else!
Plus, these gambling web-apps aren’t “geofenced,” which means they don’t just give you access to the best casinos in TX, they actually let you log in and play at the best casinos in the entire USA, 24/7/365. If you want to gamble for real, just come and take it!
Online Casino Games In Texas
Now that you know how to gamble online in Texas at the best-reviewed casino venues, you’ll probably want to get on with it. After all, the games are the thing. And while the Lone Star State is famous for Texas Holdem poker more than any other gaming amusement, casino gambling is a market all its own. And for most players, video Texas Holdem is actually even more popular than the live game.
Still, despite the state’s namesake card game, gamblers in the state favor the classics more than anything else. Texas online slots, online blackjack, roulette, keno, craps, and other Vegas-style games are the most highly sought-after titles, and all the titles at the best online casinos are developed by the top software designers in the industry.
Every venue we recommend features countless themed gambling games within the following categories, just to name a few:
- Online Slot Machines (3-Reel, 5-Reel, 3D, iSlots)
- Online Progressive Jackpot Slots
- Online Blackjack (Single-Deck, Multi-Deck)
- Online Roulette (American + European)
- Online Baccarat / Super 6 (Mini-Baccarat)
- Online Video Poker Games
- Online Keno / Online Craps
- Online Bingo Games (30/50/70/90-Ball)
- Online Lotteries / Raffles / Scratch-Offs
- Online Live Casino Games
Texas Online Live-Dealer Casino Games
Without question, online slot machines in Texas are the king of the hill when it comes to online TX gambling in general. That’s true everywhere in the world. But slots – even at brick-and-mortar casinos – are a single-player affair: It’s just you versus the machine. That’s why online slots are so much fun – they’re almost identical to the “reel” thing!
Of course, the great allure of the in-person casino experience has always been about the atmosphere, and that atmosphere is largely driven by live-dealer tables. Live casino games – such as live blackjack, live roulette, and live baccarat – are the lynchpins of any legitimate casino. And today, that’s finally true online, too!
With live-streaming video and audio capabilities, the best legal online casino websites let you fully immerse yourself in the action. Live-dealer table games feature real dealers and croupiers, and you can watch every shuffle, flip, and spin as they happen. You can even use your favorite site’s live chat function to shoot the breeze with your dealer and other players at the table.
And if you’d just rather watch the duel then go in guns blazing yourself, all the best sites offer a free live online casino spectator mode.
- Live Dealer Blackjack
- Live Dealer Roulette
- Live Dealer Baccarat
- Live Dealer Super 6
Note: Live casino games are paid only. If you’d like to play real online casino games for free, most of the legit TX gambling sites we recommend offer free online casino games in their RNG/electronic casino sections. Please also note that live casino games typically won’t apply to any active casino bonus wagering requirements.
Brick-And-Mortar Casinos In Texas
As stated, there are no “real” casinos in Texas. While this could change with state gambling expansion in the future, your best bet for traditional in-person action is to find a casino in Oklahoma near Texas. Just about every casino on the border between TX and OK offers legitimate Class III-style games, and they’re generally all worth checking out.
Barring a road trip, though, you can also play slot-like VLTs and EGMs at the Kickapoo casino in Eagle Pass, where bingo and player-banked TX poker tournaments are also available. So, as you can see, your options are pretty limited.
The current Texas casino map is definitely not all it could be. Hopefully, new casinos in Texas will become a reality sooner rather than later.
Although the state is home to a single tribal casino, TX is actually home to three federally recognized tribes.
The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas operates the state’s sole gambling venue, while the Tigua Indians of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas are not currently allowed to host casinos on their sovereign land due to prior rulings on the application of the Restoration Act of 1987.
The tribes have challenged this, and as of 2022, the case is active in the US Supreme Court.
Gambling Resources For Texas Residents
- Texas Statutes Ch. 47 – “Gambling”
- Vernon’s Civil Statutes Title 6-179e – “Texas Racing Act”
- Texas Government Code 4-E-466-A-001 et seq. – “State Lottery”
US HR 318 (1987) – “Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act”, aka “Texas Restoration Act of 1987” (Public Law 100-89). Recognizes tribes in question at the federal level, but does so after the alleged cutoff date for the IGRA law to apply to potential Texas Indian casinos. Currently being challenged in the US Supreme Court.
Gambling is all fun and games, but gambling addiction is no laughing matter. If you’re struggling and need help, please reach out to the Texas chapter of the National Council on Problem Gambling.