Waco, TX Gambling & Gaming: Game Room Regulations (2026)

Adopted by Ordinance No. 2025-777 on October 21, 2025, Section 13-72 flatly prohibits two related activities in Waco. First, no person, firm, or corporation may maintain, display for patronage, or keep for operation by patrons any amusement redemption machine or gambling device (Sec. 13-72(a)). Second, and separately, no person, firm, or corporation may operate a game room within the city limits, and the code specifies that game rooms are not permitted in any zoning district (Sec. 13-72(b)), so there is no conditional-use or special-permit path around the ban.

Section 13-73 applies the ordinance to corporations and associations for conduct performed by an agent within the scope of employment, and it authorizes the Waco Municipal Court to issue search warrants or other legal process to city officials enforcing the section. Each day, or portion of a day, a violation continues is a separate offense, punishable by fine, and the city may also pursue civil court action, nuisance abatement, injunctive relief, administrative adjudication, and revocation of any related license or permit; a violator becomes liable to the city for the expense of remediating the violation.

Section 13-74 closes a loophole by stating that nothing in the division legalizes any machine, device, table, or coin-operated machine whose operation is already illegal under state penal law or the Texas Constitution. Separately, Section 13-75 bars any skill or pleasure coin-operated machine, legal or not, within 300 feet of any school building in the city, an older provision that predates but survives the 2025 game room ban.