Killeen, TX Gambling & Gaming: Game Room Regulations (2026)
Key Facts
- Annual tax
- $7.50 per coin-operated skill/pleasure machine
- Duplicate permit fee
- $2.00 if lost, stolen, or destroyed
- Permit expires
- December 31 every year
- Exempt machines
- Vending, pay phone, pay toilet, gas meter
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, Sec. 1-8 general fine
- Collected by
- City assessor and collector
Summary
Killeen requires anyone who owns, exhibits, or operates a coin-operated amusement machine, including eight-liner-style 'skill or pleasure' games, to pay an annual $7.50 occupation tax per machine and keep the city permit attached to the unit. The rule also covers music machines. Vending, pay-phone, and gas-meter machines already taxed elsewhere are exempt. Permits expire every December 31.
(a)Every owner, save an owner holding an import license and holding coin-operated machines solely for resale, who owns, controls, possesses, exhibits, displays, or who permits to be exhibited or displayed in this state any coin-operated machine shall pay, and there is hereby levied on each coin-operated machine, as defined herein, except as are exempt herein, an annual occupation tax of seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50).(b)The city may provide a duplicate permit if a valid permit has been lost, stolen or destroyed. The fee for a duplicate permit is two dollars ($2.00).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 38 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 27, Article V of the Killeen Code of Ordinances taxes 'coin-operated machines,' a term covering music machines and 'skill or pleasure coin-operated machines' alike. Section 27-96 defines a skill or pleasure machine broadly as any coin-operated device 'used or operated for amusement or pleasure,' expressly naming marble machines, miniature race track, football, golf, and bowling machines, and any machine combining merchandise or music with games of skill or pleasure, which is taxed at the higher rate. 50 per machine, owed by every owner who possesses, exhibits, or permits the machine to be displayed in the city, except an owner holding an import license who holds the machines solely for resale.
00 duplicate fee. Section 27-98 exempts machines already taxed elsewhere, including gas meters, pay telephones, pay toilets, and food, confection, beverage, merchandise, cigarette, and stamp vending machines. Section 27-99 requires the permit to be 'securely attached to the machine,' and Section 27-100 sets the permit term to expire every December 31, meaning the tax is paid annually rather than as a one-time license. The tax is paid to the city assessor and collector for deposit in the general fund under Section 27-101.
Violations & Fines
Installing, permitting, or operating a coin-operated machine without paying the occupation tax is a misdemeanor under Section 27-102(a), punishable under the Section 1-8 general penalty of up to $500. Failing to conspicuously display the paid license receipt on the machine is a separate misdemeanor under Section 27-102(b). Every person with an interest in the machine's installation or operation can be prosecuted separately for the same violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Killeen regulate eight-liner or game room machines?
Who has to pay Killeen's coin-operated machine tax?
What if a business operates a game machine without the city tax paid?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Killeen
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Killeen to another location·View the Texas gambling & gaming overview
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