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Cleburne ordinance bars certain amusement redemption and gambling devices
Summary
Council unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting amusement redemption machines, gambling devices and game rooms, modeled on Fort Worth precedent and including exemptions for child-oriented devices that do not award cash. The ordinance establishes enforcement tools and penalties.
The Cleburne City Council unanimously approved an ordinance on Jan. 29 that outlaws amusement redemption machines, gambling devices and game rooms in the city.
Chief Severance told council legal guidance and precedent supported the ordinance and that it was intended to protect public safety, neighborhoods and quality of life. The ordinance, modeled on a Fort Worth ordinance with successful litigation history, authorizes municipal-court penalties, allows search-warrant authority to seize machines or evidence, and treats each day of violation as a separate offense (class C misdemeanor, fines up to $500). It also carves out an explicit exemption for machines designed primarily for children that do not award cash (for example, family-oriented arcade devices).
Council moved and unanimously approved the ordinance; staff will follow with a zoning-code amendment to align zoning uses with the new prohibition.
