89R11221 BEE-D     By: Shaheen H.B. No. 4132       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the definition of a bet for gambling criminal offenses   purposes.          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 (7-a) to read as   follows:                (1)  "Bet" means an agreement to win or lose something   of value solely or partially by chance. A bet includes an offer to   win a prize, award, or compensation to participants of a paid   fantasy sports league. 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.                (7-a)  "Paid fantasy sports league" means a contest in   which:                      (A)  the value of any prize, award, or   compensation is established in advance of the beginning of the   contest or of a sporting event on which the contest is based;                      (B)  participants:                            (i)  pay a fee to participate in the contest;   and                            (ii)  assemble a fictional sports team   composed of actual professional or amateur athletes to compete   against fictional sports teams assembled by other participants for   the chance to win a prize, award, or compensation;                      (C)  any part of the contest's outcome is   determined by the actual weekly performances in sporting events of   the individual athletes on a participant's fictional sports team;   and                      (D)  a portion of the fees collected from   participants is retained by the person who offers the contest and is   not paid to participants as a prize, award, or compensation.          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, 2025.