FanDuel is partly legal in Texas. You can play daily fantasy sports contests on FanDuel from inside the state, but the FanDuel Sportsbook is geofenced and will not accept a wager from anyone physically in Texas. Traditional sports betting is a criminal offense under Texas Penal Code Section 47.02, while paid daily fantasy sits in an unresolved gray area: a 2016 attorney general opinion called it illegal gambling, yet no prosecutor has ever charged a major operator or a player, and the legislature has never passed a law banning or regulating it.
What Works and What Doesn’t
Treat FanDuel as two separate products with two different legal statuses in Texas.
- Daily fantasy sports: Available. You can draft lineups, enter paid salary-cap and pick’em contests, and withdraw winnings.
- FanDuel Sportsbook: Blocked. The app’s geolocation check prevents any sports wager while you are inside Texas.
- FanDuel Racing: Not available. Texas is not among the states where FanDuel accepts horse racing wagers.1FanDuel. Horse Racing
Why the Sportsbook Is Blocked
Placing a straight wager on a team, a point spread, or a game total is unambiguously illegal in Texas. Penal Code Section 47.02 makes it a criminal offense to bet on “the partial or final result of a game or contest or on the performance of a participant.” A violation is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 per offense.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 47.02 – Gambling
The Texas Constitution reinforces the prohibition. Article III, Section 47 directs the legislature to pass laws against lotteries and gift enterprises, carving out only charitable bingo, charitable raffles, and the state lottery. Authorizing sportsbooks would require a constitutional amendment, which means a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the legislature followed by a majority vote at a statewide referendum.
FanDuel complies by running a geofence through its mobile app and website. The system checks your GPS before every transaction. Inside Texas, the sportsbook interface locks. You can still browse odds or manage an account you created elsewhere, but no wager will post.
Don’t Try to Beat the Geofence With a VPN
Spoofing your location through a VPN is a bad bet for two reasons. Legally, placing a sports wager while physically in Texas violates Section 47.02 no matter what your phone reports.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 47.02 – Gambling Practically, sportsbooks are good at detecting VPN traffic. Accounts flagged for location spoofing can be closed permanently, with pending withdrawals and existing balances voided. Operators have no obligation to pay out on bets that broke their terms of service.
Why Daily Fantasy Is a Gray Area, Not Clearly Legal
DFS has been contested in Texas since January 2016, when Attorney General Ken Paxton issued Opinion KP-0057 concluding that paid daily fantasy contests “likely constitute illegal gambling” under state law.3Office of the Attorney General. KP-0057 Paxton’s reasoning: participants pay an entry fee and win prizes based on athlete performance they cannot control, which looks a lot like betting on a sporting event.
The reason that argument has traction in Texas, when it has failed in other states, is the definition of a “bet.” Penal Code Section 47.01 defines a bet as an agreement to win or lose something of value “solely or partially by chance.”4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 47.01 The word “partially” does the work. Many states require chance to be the predominant factor, which lets DFS operators argue skill outweighs luck. Texas only requires partial chance, and injuries, weather, and play-calling supply plenty of it even in a skill-heavy contest.5Office of the Attorney General. Texas Attorney General Paxton Releases Opinion on Daily Paid Fantasy Sports Sites
An attorney general opinion is not a statute and not a court ruling. It carries persuasive weight but does not bind prosecutors, courts, or private companies. Since 2016, no district attorney has pursued criminal charges against FanDuel, DraftKings, or any other major DFS operator in Texas, and the legislature has had multiple sessions to ban or regulate DFS and has done neither. FanDuel and similar platforms defend their contests as skill-based, pointing to research into player statistics, matchup data, and injury reports. The result is a standoff: an attorney general who says the practice is illegal, operators who disagree, no enforcement in either direction, and hundreds of thousands of Texans entering contests each NFL season.
For you, the practical takeaway is that playing DFS from Texas carries no realistic risk of prosecution today, but there is no statute protecting you either. That could change if a future legislature acts or a court finally rules.
Account Requirements for Texas Players
To play DFS on FanDuel from Texas, you must be at least 18 years old.6FanDuel Support. How Old Do I Have to Be to Bet or Play on FanDuel FanDuel verifies your identity at sign-up: name, date of birth, address, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. The verification confirms you are a real adult and sets up tax reporting if your winnings reach the federal threshold. Providing false information can mean permanent account closure and forfeiture of your balance.
Geolocation runs every time you try to enter a paid contest. If you travel to a state where the FanDuel Sportsbook is live, you can access it from there. The moment you cross back into Texas, those features lock again.
Taxes on Your Winnings
Texas has no state income tax, so nothing is owed to the state on DFS winnings. Federal tax rules apply regardless of what any operator sends you. The IRS treats gambling and contest income as fully taxable and expects you to report it on your federal return.7Internal Revenue Service. Gambling Income and Losses
DFS operators typically issue a 1099-MISC when your net profits for the year reach $600. For winnings reported on Form W-2G, such as sweepstakes, wagering pools, and lotteries, the reporting threshold for payments made in 2026 is $2,000 when the winnings are at least 300 times the wager amount. When federal withholding applies, the rate is 24%.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 Even below those thresholds, you are still required to report the income. Gambling losses are deductible, but only up to the amount of your winnings and only if you itemize.
Will Texas Legalize Sports Betting?
Not soon. Because authorization would require a constitutional amendment, any bill needs a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers before voters get a say. In the 89th Legislative Session in 2025, at least one joint resolution (HJR 134) was introduced to authorize sports wagering, and it ran into the same wall as every prior attempt.
The wall is the Texas Senate. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who controls what reaches the Senate floor, has said the Republican votes to pass gambling expansion do not exist in his chamber, and he has indicated he would only move such a measure if a majority of Senate Republicans backed it. As Senate president, he can keep any gambling bill from a vote regardless of House support.
The Texas Legislature meets only in odd-numbered years absent a special session. With no amendment making the November 2025 ballot, the earliest realistic window is the 2027 session. Until then, FanDuel in Texas remains what it is today: DFS yes, sportsbook no.