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Waco staff propose ordinance to ban '8‑liners' after Texas court ruling; cite crime and laundering concerns
Summary
City staff and police proposed updating city code to prohibit amusement‑redemption '8‑liner' machines used for gambling, aligning local law with a 2024 Texas judicial ruling and following Fort Worth’s lead; staff recommended Jan. 1, 2026 as an effective date.
Assistant Director Sarah Raley and Assistant Chief Mark Norcross told the council that Waco intends to amend municipal ordinances to prohibit amusement‑redemption machines known as “8‑liners,” following a 2024 Texas court ruling that found those devices constitute unlawful gambling.
Raley said Texas law historically included a limited “fuzzy animal” exception intended to protect children’s arcade games; operators have used that exception to deploy machines that resemble skill or prize games but operate as games of chance. She said a 2024 court decision concluded 8‑liners are unconstitutional gambling devices and that Fort Worth and several other Texas cities have adopted ordinances to ban them. “Bottom line up front, there was a judicial ruling in 2024 where…
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