Tarrant County approves game room regulations, requiring permits, fees and more
Tarrant County commissioners approved a long list of requirements for game room owners Tuesday in an effort to regulate the businesses that many residents believe attract crime.
The commissioners unanimously adopted an ordinance that requires permits for game room owners and sets rules regarding hours and locations. Commissioner J.D. Johnson was not present. The regulations are set to go into effect April 1, 2020. Among the rules for game rooms:
- A permit to operate.
- Hours are limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Game rooms cannot be within 1,500 feet of a school, church or residential neighborhood, or within 2,000 feet of another game room.
- An outside sign that reads “game room” must be displayed and at least two windows must provide “a clear and unobstructed view of all machines.”
- Violating the regulations could result in fines and misdemeanor charges.
But it’s unclear how the county will notify game room owners, as officials know there are some businesses they aren’t aware of. No game room owners testified in support of the regulations at Commissioners Court.
“This process has been ongoing for a year. It has been discussed before the Commissioners Court in February and July and over the past few months,” county spokesman Bill Hanna said in a statement. “We made all of the appropriate postings and received no feedback from operators.”
Additional details for the ordinance still need to be finalized, with Arlington raising some concerns with how the county will oversee the city’s efforts.
“While I am especially sensitive to the concerns of the city of Arlington, I trust that we have done everything we can to have come to as close to a middle ground as possible (while) still upholding our responsibility to follow the law,” said Commissioner Devan Allen, whose precinct includes Arlington.
Under Texas law, game room owners are legally allowed to operate the popular slot machines, often known as eight-liners, as long as prizes aren’t paid in cash and aren’t worth more than $5. And in Fort Worth, the city takes it a step further, enforcing various requirements.
But it’s long been an open secret that illegal cash payouts and prizes worth more than the allowed amount are doled out to winning customers.
This year, Fort Worth police have made at least 40 arrests and seized over $270,000 through raids on game rooms, said Freddrick Long, the lieutenant overseeing the Fort Worth Police Department’s Vice Unit. Game rooms have been subject to robberies and shootings, and six murders have occurred related to game rooms this year, Long said.
There are more than 200 known game rooms in Fort Worth, Long said. He estimated that there are between 300 and 350 when accounting for game rooms the city isn’t aware of.
“This problem is not something that can be addressed by running search warrants and seizing machines,” Long said, noting his unit has issued over 32 search warrants for game rooms this year. “We hit them. We take the motherboards. We take the machines. No matter what we take, it’s the price of doing business.”
The county’s ordinance will help law enforcement police game rooms, Long said. Officers have trouble accessing many without going under cover because they require membership. This ordinance makes that practice a misdemeanor, he said.
“My neighborhood has been plagued by this quite frequently,” Fort Worth resident Kris Shafer said at Tuesday’s meeting, referring to a game room near his home that police said they’ve cracked down on.
In Fort Worth, city officials have found game rooms are hubs for other crimes, said Brandon Bennett, director of the city’s Environmental Health and Code Compliance Department.
“It’s not unusual in the city of Fort Worth that we will go in on a gaming complaint and find mattresses in the back for prostitution,” Bennett said. “We see this as an opportunity to implement an ounce of cure. For us to pay attention. For the game room people to know that we’re paying attention.”
Arlington officials said they’ve grappled with the regulation of game rooms, but requested tweaks to the ordinance’s language. Mainly, Arlington wanted the county to refrain from issuing permits in cities that haven’t entered into an agreement with the county, Arlington Assistant City Manager Jennifer Wichmann said.
Former Arlington City Councilwoman Kathryn Wilemon stressed that Arlington’s efforts have worked for the city.
“We no longer accept gaming rooms in Arlington. Good news is it’s worked. But it’s been an ongoing issue in our city,” Wilemon said. “We feel like we have it under control. But we want to be a partner with the county.”
The issue is with how state law is worded, giving the county regulatory authority to issue permits rather than cities, said Russell Schaffner, the assistant county administrator for Tarrant County.
And while residents’ have complained for years that the businesses are hotbeds for crime, commissioners previously said they were hesitant to take action after a 2017 law granted Tarrant County regulatory authority, in part, because they felt it was an unfunded mandate that cities were better-suited to regulate.
But Fort Worth’s attempts to oversee game rooms quickly faced legal challenges after an ordinance was passed in 2014. While the city is still allowed to enforce some building requirements, hours of operation and more, sections of the ordinance that restricted where game rooms could be located were struck down. The city was challenged, in part, on whether it had the jurisdiction to enforce game room licensing and if zoning restrictions had gone beyond state law.
The extent of the city’s oversight is still being debated in the courts. The case is before the Texas Supreme Court with arguments scheduled for Jan. 28, senior city attorney Chris Mosley said.
County Regulations
Officials can take action if game rooms are operating illegally. But due to state law, the county can only regulate legal game rooms that feature six or more gaming machines. It’s a fact that commissioners expressed frustration with Tuesday, and hope to see the legislature address.
“I don’t understand why if something’s wrong, just a little bit of it makes it any better. So if over five machines is wrong, one machine ought to be just as wrong,” Judge Glen Whitley said.
Potential owners must submit a detailed application, a non-refundable fee of $1,000 and participate in up to three inspections of the proposed game room to ensure compliance. A $1,000 fee is also required to renew the game room permit each year.
A permit can be denied, revoked or suspended for a variety of reasons, including past criminal offenses, previously revoked permits, or failure to meet requirements. A game room permit holder or applicant can appeal the decision before a hearing examiner, who will be appointed by the Commissioners Court.
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said he anticipates dedicating a special until to enforcing game rooms. Details about the size of the unit haven’t been hammered out, he said, but it could require hiring additional deputies and allocating cars, computers and other resources. A game room unit wasn’t factored into a 2020 budget for the department, so he’ll have to make a proposal to the commissioners court for approval.
Fort Worth will enter into an agreement with Tarrant County, Mosley said. That agreement will likely include Fort Worth Police remaining the enforcement agency in the city limits with permits going through the city’s planning and development department. Details of the agreement will have to be approved by the City Council, which Mosley expects sometime in the next month.
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 4:09 PM.
