Texas “Sweepstakes Gaming”

Over the past several years, in shopping malls and storefronts across the country, smart entrepreneurs have begun operating what are called sweepstakes parlors. They look and smell like miniature casinos, and they’re lined with terminals featuring electronic games that are legal slot machines, video poker and other games on which money tends to be wagered. These parlors work great when ran honestly and true to the law.

Sweepstakes parlors have complied to state gambling laws, or tried to, by selling a product or service (often Internet access or phone cards, according to Wikipedia), then entering purchasers into a sweepstakes in which they can win cash by playing a game of chance. Over the few years skill features have taken chance out of the software kind of like fantasy sports betting, which is legal in a majority of the country.