TwinSpires is letting Texas residents open accounts 13 years after the online horse-racing wagering provider left the state.
Key Takeaways
- TwinSpires is now letting Texans open accounts for the first time in over a decade.
- The company has not issued a formal announcement, but a player services representative confirmed the news.
- Texas has not taken any enforcement action against the spread of sweepstakes casinos and prediction markets - as many other states have done - so, it’s unclear whether TwinSpires will run into regulatory problems in the Lone Star State.
TwinSpires has not issued a press release on its account rule change, but news spread quickly over social media.
@NTamm1215 @EJXD2 I just got a call from Twin Spires saying online wagering on horse racing in Texas is now legal as of yesterday. Do you know if this is true? I don't see anything online about it.
— Track Phantom (@TrackPhantom) February 4, 2026
A player services representative at TwinSpires has since confirmed the news to Covers.
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Re-entry after more than a decade
In 2013, TwinSpires withdrew from Texas after losing a court decision regarding the state’s “in-person” requirement for horse-racing wagering.
Churchill Downs, TwinSpires’ parent company, filed suit after receiving a subpoena in June 2012, subsequently learning that the Texas Racing Commission would start enforcing the “in-person” requirement. While the “in-person” requirement had been in effect since 1986, it was amended in 2011 to specifically prohibit Internet and telephone gambling on horse racing in the state.
Texas has introduced numerous bills to legalize online gambling, but none have made it through the legislative process. However, Texas has not taken any action to prohibit the spread of sweepstakes casinos or prediction markets, so TwinSpires may have seen a window of opportunity.
In Michigan, TwinSpires is embroiled in a legal battle with state regulators. In December, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit sided with the online racebook, ruling that Michigan could not shut down TwinSpires until the legal challenge relative to the state’s licensing rules was resolved. This win - although a temporary stop along the legal process - may also have inspired TwinSpires to enter other states.
