Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8901L0924B10 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-01-30

Were charges for trips on gambling ships taxable as amusement services?

Short answer: Yes. The internal Comptroller memo said charges for gambling-ship trips were taxable as amusement services; it did not distinguish trips by duration.

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This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

This internal Comptroller memo said charges for trips on “gambling ships” were taxable as amusement services.

The preserved body gives no facts about a particular vessel and does not distinguish a 24-hour cruise from a longer trip. This page therefore reports only the body holding and does not adopt the duration comparison in STAR's subject label.

Common questions

Were gambling-ship trip charges taxable? Yes, as amusement services.

Did the memo distinguish cruises by length? No.

Did it discuss gambling legality or other taxes? No. The memo addressed only sales-tax treatment of the trip charges.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS 78774

January 30, 1989

To: Claudia Stravato

From: Martin Cherry

Subject: Gambling ships

You asked about the sales tax treatment of charges for trips on
"gambling ships."

The decision has been made to tax these charges as amusement
services.

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