The 'It's Basically Skill' Defense Just Got a Lot Harder to Make in Texas

The Trick Was a Simon Says Game. Seriously.

If you live near a gas station or strip-mall game room in Flower Mound, Lewisville, or anywhere in Denton County, a legal argument that kept those slot-style machines humming just got a lot harder to make.

For the past few years, operators of slot-style machines across Texas have been running a specific defense. Yes, they'd say, our machine looks like a slot machine. But it also has a skill component. A memory game, specifically: a Simon Says-style round called "Follow Me" that lets players try to recover losses by repeating a pattern. That skill element, they argued, meant the machine wasn't a gambling device under Texas law.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion this week concluding that machines combining chance- and skill-based gameplay qualify as illegal gambling devices under state law. The opinion came in response to a request from State Sen. Bob Hall and directly addresses machines that resemble slot games but allow players to recover losses through that Simon Says-style memory game.

The short version: the Follow Me workaround is done.

What the Law Actually Says

Texas has some of the strictest anti-gambling laws in the country. The specific statute is Penal Code Chapter 47, which prohibits the promotion and operation of gambling activities. Paxton's opinion interprets that law and clarifies that slapping a "skill-based" label on a machine does not put it beyond the statute's reach.

The legal standard Texas uses is called the "any chance" test. It is the strictest approach to gambling definition in American law. Virtually any competitive activity with a monetary component could theoretically qualify as gambling, since almost every game involves some element of chance.

"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 went further, concluding that "any award of value remains inextricably intertwined with the element of chance."

In other words, bolting a memory game onto a slot machine doesn't change what the slot machine is.

What This Opinion Is — and Isn't

Before anyone tells you this opinion "legalizes" or "bans" anything outright, here's what you actually need to know. An attorney general opinion is a written interpretation of the law that guides government agencies and law enforcement officers. It is not a court ruling. It does not change existing law.

What it does is give police and prosecutors clearer footing when deciding whether to act. If an officer in Lewisville is looking at one of these hybrid machines and wondering whether there are grounds to treat it as a gambling device, Paxton's opinion is now part of the answer given to the chief.

Operators know this. Lone Star Skill, powered by Pace-O-Matic, issued a public statement applauding the opinion — but arguing it does not apply to their machines, citing successful court decisions including from the Sixth Appellate District of Texas affirming their games are legal because outcomes are based solely on player skill. Lone Star Skill notes that an attorney general's opinion cannot and does not overturn an opinion of a Texas court.

That's a real distinction. The Lone Star Skill statement says the machines Paxton's opinion describes are illegal slot machines that masquerade as skill games and have not been adjudicated by Texas courts as legal — meaning Lone Star Skill is drawing a line between their product and the Follow Me machines Paxton addressed.

This fight is going to continue in courtrooms.

What This Means for Lewisville and Denton County

At the center of the controversy are machines commonly known as "8-liners." Many can be found inside gas stations, convenience stores, or small strip-mall businesses throughout Denton County.

Here's where Lewisville sits legally. The Texas Municipal League advises cities in the Second Court of Appeals' jurisdiction — which includes Denton County — to follow that court's decision and treat eight-liners as unconstitutional lotteries. That ruling predates Paxton's opinion. The new opinion layers on top of it, targeting the skill-game workaround specifically.

No Lewisville ordinance or enforcement action against these machines was verifiable from public sources at the time of publication. But the direction of travel across North Texas is clear. Lubbock County started enforcing new rules in May 2025. Jefferson County updated its ordinance in 2025. Waco City Council approved a ban on eight-liners effective January 1, 2026. Hardin County amended its regulations to specifically state that eight-liners are prohibited.

Waco's police department wasn't subtle about the reason. Waco Police Assistant Chief Mark Norcross told the city council that crime increased 20 times near businesses with eight-liner machines, calling them "nothing but crime magnets."

The Practical Exposure

If you play these machines or you're a small business owner who keeps them on your floor, Paxton's opinion does not flip a switch. No raid is coming tomorrow because of it alone. But the legal ground operators stand on just got narrower.

Possession of a gambling device under Texas Penal Code Section 47.06 is a Class A misdemeanor. Same level as assault causing bodily injury or theft over $750. Real exposure.

One logistical wrinkle is worth knowing. Many confiscated machines are not destroyed after seizure — some jurisdictions auction them off — and investigators have confirmed that machines seized by other agencies sometimes make their way back into circulation. That revolving door is part of why years of enforcement activity haven't made these machines disappear.

The Bottom Line

Paxton's opinion KP-0520 doesn't end the era of gray-zone gaming machines in Texas. It closes one specific door — the Follow Me skill-game argument — and hands local law enforcement cleaner authority to act. Whether Lewisville or Denton County uses that authority is a local decision that hasn't been made publicly yet.

Watch your city council agendas. This one is heading toward every municipality in North Texas eventually.