Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a new legal opinion concluding that electronic amusement machines can fall under Texas gambling laws when chance plays any part in whether a player receives something of value.
The June 10 opinion came after state Sen. Bob Hall asked for guidance about machines that combine a traditional chance-based game with a separate skill feature.
Under the setup described to the attorney general’s office, a player first inserts money or tokens and receives credits. The initial game resembles a video slot machine. Symbols appear randomly on the screen, and players cannot influence where they land. Whether a player wins or loses depends on the outcome of the spin.
A second feature called “Follow Me” becomes available after a losing spin. In that mode, the machine displays numbers from one through nine, and the player must repeat a sequence generated by the machine. The sequence grows longer as the game continues. Completing 20 numbers in the correct order returns the amount lost during the previous spin.
How the Texas opinion on chance-based elements applies to gambling devices
Paxton’s office noted that the legality of any particular machine ultimately depends on the facts surrounding that device. Even so, the opinion explains how Chapter 47 of the Texas Penal Code generally applies to machines with the characteristics outlined in Hall’s request.
State law defines a gambling device as an electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance that requires consideration and offers the chance to obtain something of value when the result is determined “solely or partially by chance,” even when skill is also present.
According to the opinion, Texas law and prior court rulings have repeatedly treated any chance element as significant. The attorney general’s office said a game does not need to be entirely based on chance to qualify. Even a predominantly skill-based activity may still meet the legal definition if chance influences whether value can be obtained.
It focuses on the fact that players must first participate in the slot-style game before reaching the skill component. Because entry into the second mode depends on the outcome of a random spin, the opportunity to recover value remains connected to a chance-driven event.
As a result, the opinion states that machines offering both a chance-based game and a skill-based mode are gambling devices under Chapter 47 “so long as chance plays any role in determining whether the player receives something of value, regardless of the presence of skill.” The office therefore declined to address a separate question involving prizes awarded in games of skill.
The opinion arrives as Texas authorities continue targeting suspected illegal gambling operations. In April, Bexar County deputies raided a location on West Hildebrand Avenue in San Antonio, arresting three people and detaining eight others. Investigators seized about 50 machines and filed allegations including gambling promotion, possession of gambling devices or equipment, and engaging in organized crime. Authorities have said that the investigation remains active.
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