Texas AG Says Skill Game Machines Remain Illegal If Chance Is Involved

The opinion comes amid ongoing disputes over skill game machines in Texas and follows court rulings in favor of the machines.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued an opinion concluding that machines that combine chance- and skill-based gameplay qualify as illegal gambling devices under state law if chance plays any role in determining whether a player receives something of value.

The opinion, released in response to a request from Sen. Bob Hall, addresses machines that resemble slot games but allow players to recover losses through a Simon Says-style memory game.

According to the opinion, the presence of a skill component does not exclude the machines from Texas gambling laws. Paxton concluded that any opportunity to obtain value remains tied to the game’s chance-based component.

So long as chance plays any role in determining whether the player obtains something of value, the device satisfies the statutory definition,” the opinion states.

Paxton further concluded that “any award of value remains inextricably intertwined with the element of chance.”

He wrote that players must begin playing a game that operates like a slot machine, with no control over the outcome. Only after they’ve lost can they access the skill-based feature, which does nothing to alter the previous outcome.

Hall Sought Opinion Amid Skill-Game Disputes

Hall requested the opinion in March on whether machines marketed as skill games fall outside Texas gambling laws.

In his request, Hall described machines that operate like video slot machines but include a “Follow Me” feature, a Simon Says-style memory game that allows players to reclaim money lost during a previous spin.

Hall argued that the feature was designed to circumvent Texas gambling laws. He sought clarification whether a machine that incorporates chance- and skill-based gameplay constitutes a gambling device under Chapter 47 of the Texas Penal Code.

Hall welcomed the opinion’s release. He said it confirmed that gambling devices “disguising themselves as ‘skill games'” remain illegal in Texas.

A pig wearing lipstick remains a pig, and a gambling device dressed up to resemble a ‘skill’ device remains a gambling device,” Hall wrote.

Opinion Follows Pace-O-Matic Court Victories

The opinion follows court rulings in favor of skill-based gaming machines.

Last year, Texas’ Sixth Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling in favor of Pace-O-Matic machines. Both courts found that the devices qualified as games of skill rather than games of chance.

The case involved machines featuring Simon Says-style memorization games similar to the “Follow Me” feature Hall highlighted in his request.

The court decisions have contributed to a growing divide among local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in Texas. While some jurisdictions have treated the machines as lawful, others continue to investigate or challenge their operation.

Attorney general opinions do not change the law and are not binding on Texas courts. They serve as advisory interpretations of the law, intended to guide enforcement agencies and lawmakers.

Texas Gambling Questions Extend Beyond Skill Games

The debate over skill-game machines is one of several unresolved gambling issues in Texas.

The state maintains some of the most restrictive gambling laws in the U.S. Yet disputes continue over game rooms, eight-liner machines, and membership-based poker clubs, all operating in a legal gray area.

Earlier this year, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission raided the Lodge Card Club near Austin. The Lodge is one of the largest poker rooms in Texas, owned by poker professionals Doug Polk, Andrew Neeme, and Brad Owen.

Poker rooms operate under a private-club model and Texas’ “social gambling” exception that allows peer-to-peer poker games while avoiding traditional house-banked gambling.

However, critics argue that the clubs still derive economic benefits from the games.

As with the debate over skill-game machines, disputes involving poker clubs often center on whether activities that resemble gambling fall within the exceptions in Texas law.

Debates Over Skill Games Have Emerged Elsewhere

Texas is among the numerous states grappling with how skill game machines should be classified.

Missouri spent years battling Torch Electronics over its “No Chance” machines before courts ultimately ruled against the company earlier this year. The decision led Torch to suspend operations across the state.

Last year, Torch’s “No Chance” machines were also deemed illegal in Tennessee.

Elsewhere, in Pennsylvania, home to tens of thousands of skill game terminals, the state’s Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on their legality. The Court heard arguments in November 2025, after a lower court and an appellate court ruled that the machines do not constitute illegal gambling machines.

Internationally, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that the GotSkill? “skill game” terminals constitute gambling under the law.

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