San Antonio, TX Gambling & Gaming: Game Room Regulations (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax cap per machine
- 1/4 of state occupation tax
- Tax year
- June 1 through May 31
- Decal required before use
- Yes, on every machine
- Sealed-machine release penalty
- $5.00 per machine
- Enforcing office
- City tax office special tax investigators
- Exempt machines
- Vending, pay phone, children's amusement
Summary
San Antonio taxes and decals every skill, pleasure, or music coin-operated machine, the category covering eight-liner and game-room devices, at up to a quarter of the state occupation tax per machine. Machines without a valid decal are unlawful to possess or exhibit and can be sealed shut.
Sec. 31-40. Every owner or operator who owns, controls, possesses, exhibits, displays, or who permits to be exhibited or displayed in this city any coin operated machine which are not exempt from payment by section 31-42 of this Code, shall pay the appropriate annual taxes as provided in section 31-43. Sec. 31-41. The terms "owner," "operator," "coin-operated machine," "music coin-operated machine," "skill or pleasure coin-operated machine," or "service coin-operated machine," as used in this section, shall have the meanings given to them in chapter eight, V.A.T.S., coin-operated services. Sec. 31-46. It shall be unlawful for any person to possess or exhibit within the city, any coin-operated amusement machine without having first properly attached thereto a valid current decal issued by the city tax assessor-collector.
Full Breakdown
City Code Chapter 31, Article III governs coin-operated machines citywide, and its definitions in Sec. 31-41 borrow directly from the state statute covering "skill or pleasure coin-operated machine" devices, the legal category that includes eight-liners and similar game-room equipment. Sec. 31-40 requires every owner or operator who owns, controls, possesses, exhibits or displays a non-exempt coin-operated machine in the city to pay the annual occupation tax set in Sec. 31-43. That section caps the tax at one-fourth of the state's tax per machine, prorated to half the annual amount for machines placed in service between December and May, with no proration for a machine that was sealed.
Sec. 31-44 ties the tax year to June 1 through May 31 and requires proof of payment through a decal placed on the machine before it is put into operation, displayed, or used. Sec. 31-47 requires the decal to be permanently and conspicuously affixed to the machine, bars taping it on, and voids any decal removed or affixed by a non-adhesive method; decals are not transferable between owners or machines. Vending, pay-phone, pay-toilet, stamp, and children's amusement machines are exempted under Sec. 31-42, but skill-or-pleasure game machines are not.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 31-46 makes it unlawful to possess or exhibit any coin-operated amusement machine in the city without a properly attached, valid current decal. Sec. 31-48(a) authorizes the city tax office's special tax investigators to inspect machines and seal or disable any on which the tax hasn't been paid or whose decal is missing, removed, invalidated, or defaced beyond reading. A sealed machine cannot lawfully be played, used, or moved from where it was sealed until the tax and penalty are paid. Releasing a sealed machine under Sec. 31-48(b) requires paying the full tax due plus a five-dollar penalty per machine to the assessor-collector.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does San Antonio have a specific law for eight-liner or game-room machines?
How much does San Antonio charge per game machine?
What happens if a game machine doesn't have a valid decal?
Can a decal be moved from one machine to another?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Antonio
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