Is an amusement machine that combines a slot-style chance game with a skill-based bonus game still an illegal gambling device in Texas?

Plain-English summary

Senator Bob Hall asked the Attorney General about a type of electronic amusement machine that runs in two connected modes. The first mode plays "like a video slot machine": the player feeds in money or tokens, nine symbols land in a random arrangement the player cannot control, and the player wins or loses credits based on that random result. The second mode, called "Follow Me," only opens after a losing spin. It lets the player try to win back the money just lost by pressing numbers in a sequence the machine sets, a memory-and-skill task that gets longer until the player either slips up or presses a string of twenty numbers correctly. The question: does mixing a chance game with a skill game keep the machine off the gambling-device list?

The AG said no. Penal Code Chapter 47 defines a "gambling device" as any contrivance that, for consideration, gives the player a chance to win something of value when the award is "determined solely or partially by chance, even though accompanied by some skill." The key words are "partially" and "even though accompanied by some skill." A machine does not have to be all chance, or even mostly chance, to count. If chance plays any role at all in whether the player can win, the machine fits the definition.

Applied to the described machine, the win is "inextricably intertwined" with chance. The player has to start with the random slot game, and the skill-based "Follow Me" mode only becomes available after losing that chance game. A lucky player could win on the slot mode and walk away without ever touching the skill game. Because the opportunity to win runs through a game of chance, the machine qualifies as a gambling device regardless of the skill layer.

The AG was careful about one limit: it cannot decide through the opinion process whether any particular machine is illegal, because that is a fact-specific call. The opinion explains how the statute works for machines with the features Senator Hall described, not whether a given device on a given premises is a gambling device.

What this means for you

If you own or operate amusement machines

Based on this opinion, bolting a skill-based bonus round onto a chance-based slot game does not convert the machine into a legal "game of skill." The AG reads Chapter 47 to cover any device where chance plays a role in the chance to win, even if skill also matters. If your machine starts with a random spin that decides wins, the skill mode that follows does not cure the problem under this reading.

If you are a convenience store, bar, or arcade owner hosting these machines

The opinion treats the host premises as relevant too. Chapter 47 reaches not just the device but the "gambling place" where devices are played and the act of keeping such a place (§§ 47.03, 47.04, 47.01(3)). If a machine on your property fits the gambling-device definition, the location and operation can be implicated, not only the machine's manufacturer.

If you are a prosecutor or law-enforcement officer

The AG endorses the "any element of chance" standard from State v. Gambling Device and State v. Fry: a device can be predominantly skill and still be a gambling device if chance influences the outcome. The opinion gives you the statutory-construction backing for that position, while reminding you that whether a specific machine qualifies remains a fact question for the case, not something the AG resolves.

If you are a legislator or policymaker

The opinion is a straight reading of the existing definition in § 47.01(4). It notes the statute already sweeps in machines whose award is "partially" by chance. Any change to carve out hybrid skill-plus-chance machines would have to come from the Legislature, not from reinterpreting the current text.

Common questions

Q: Does adding a skill game make a slot-style machine legal in Texas?
A: Not under this opinion. The AG concluded that if chance plays any role in whether a player can win something of value, the machine is a gambling device under Chapter 47, even with a skill mode attached.

Q: What if the machine is mostly skill?
A: It can still qualify. The AG quoted State v. Gambling Device that "[e]ven a contrivance that is predominantly a game of skill may be determined by chance." Any element of chance can be enough.

Q: The "Follow Me" mode lets players win money back with skill. Doesn't that matter?
A: The AG said it does not change the result. The skill mode only opens after a losing spin on the random game, and a player can win on the chance game alone. The opportunity to win still runs through chance.

Q: Did the AG declare these specific machines illegal?
A: No. The AG said it cannot determine through the opinion process whether any specific machine is a gambling device, because that is a highly fact-dependent inquiry. The opinion explains how the statute applies to machines with the described features.

Q: What law is at issue?
A: Penal Code Chapter 47, which prohibits gambling devices and defines a gambling device in § 47.01(4) as a machine whose award of value is "determined solely or partially by chance, even though accompanied by some skill."

Background and statutory framework

Penal Code Chapter 47 generally prohibits gambling devices. Section 47.06(a) criminalizes owning, manufacturing, transferring, or possessing "any gambling device" or equipment "designed as a subassembly or essential part of a gambling device." Sections 47.03(a)(1) and 47.04(a) reach the operation of, and participation in, a "gambling place," which § 47.01(3) defines to include any property where gambling devices are played.

The definition that controls the question is § 47.01(4): a "gambling device" is any electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance that, "for a consideration affords the player an opportunity to obtain anything of value, the award of which is determined solely or partially by chance, even though accompanied by some skill." Subsection 47.01(4)(A) further sweeps in certain electronic games that operate by chance or partially so and award and track free games or credits.

The AG applied ordinary tools of statutory construction, reading the definition in context and giving effect to every word (In re Off. of Att'y Gen., 422 S.W.3d 623, 629 (Tex. 2013); F.F.P. Operating Partners, L.P. v. Duenez, 237 S.W.3d 680, 683 (Tex. 2007); In re Xerox Corp., 555 S.W.3d 518, 527 (Tex. 2018)). It emphasized that a gambling device "need not rely entirely, or even primarily, on chance"; so long as chance plays any role in whether the player obtains something of value, the definition is met. Texas courts have applied this plain meaning: gambling devices include "contrivances that incorporate any element of chance, even if the exercise of skill also influences the outcome," and "[e]ven a contrivance that is predominantly a game of skill may be determined by chance" (State v. Gambling Device, 859 S.W.2d 519, 523 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ denied)). Video slot machines are recognized games of chance the Legislature meant Chapter 47 to reach (State v. Fry, 867 S.W.2d 398, 402 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, no pet.)).

Because the described machine requires the player to begin with the random slot game, and the skill-based "Follow Me" mode only becomes available after a loss, the AG concluded the opportunity to win remains intertwined with chance, so the machine qualifies as a gambling device. The AG declined to decide whether any specific machine is a gambling device, citing the fact-dependent nature of that inquiry (Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0425 (2023) at 3), and did not reach the secondary question about prize value because that question assumed the contrary conclusion.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- Tex. Penal Code § 47.01 — definitions of gambling place and gambling device
- Tex. Penal Code § 47.06 — possession of a gambling device, equipment, or paraphernalia

Key cases:
- State v. Gambling Device, 859 S.W.2d 519 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ denied) — any element of chance suffices, even for a predominantly skill game
- State v. Fry, 867 S.W.2d 398 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, no pet.) — video slot machines are within Chapter 47's reach

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/ken-paxton/kp-0520
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2026/kp-0520.pdf

Original opinion text

June 10, 2026

The Honorable Bob Hall
Chair, Senate Committee on Administration
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068

Opinion No. KP-0520
Re: Whether an amusement machine is considered a gambling device under the Texas Penal Code when the machine offers both chance-based and skill-based game modes (RQ-0637-KP)

Dear Senator Hall:

You ask whether Chapter 47 of the Penal Code applies to certain electronic amusement machines. As background, you describe the interrelated games on these machines in detail. See Request Letter at 1–2. In that context, you inquire whether machines that combine an initial chance-based game with a subsequent skill-based game qualify as "gambling device[s]" under Chapter 47. Id. at 1. We begin by summarizing the facts you provide.

You describe amusement machines featuring a combination of chance-based and skill-based play.

As we understand it, the machines described in your request operate in two interconnected modes. See id. at 1–2. In the first mode, a player inserts "currency or tokens into the machine" to obtain credits and then plays a game that functions "like a video slot machine." Id. at 1. You explain that "the electronic symbols are arranged randomly," and the player exercises no "control over where each electronic symbol is displayed." Id. Players "win or lose credits depending on the random arrangement of the nine electronic symbols." Id. If a player continues playing, the machine charges additional credits for each new spin and displays a fresh random arrangement. Id.

You tell us that the machine also offers an optional secondary mode called "Follow Me." Id. This mode allows participants to "reclaim the consideration they have just wagered and lost during their most recent unsuccessful spin." Id. at 1–2. It displays numbers one through nine, and the player must press numbers "in a certain order determined by the machine." Id. at 2. The sequence lengthens until the player either makes a mistake or successfully "press[es] a string of twenty numbers in the correct order." Id. A successful completion returns "the amount wagered and lost on the previous roll." Id.

Together, these two modes combine a chance-based slot-style game with a skill-based memory-sequence game that offers players a structured opportunity to recoup losses from the first game. We cannot determine through the opinion process whether any specific machine qualifies as a gambling device, because that determination is a highly fact dependent inquiry. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0425 (2023) at 3. But we can explain how Chapter 47 applies generally to machines possessing the characteristics that you describe.

Penal Code Chapter 47 generally prohibits gambling devices.

The Texas Penal Code generally prohibits gambling devices. In relevant part, section 47.06 criminalizes the ownership, manufacture, transfer, or possession of "any gambling device" or any equipment "designed as a subassembly or essential part of a gambling device." TEX. PENAL CODE § 47.06(a). Sections 47.03 and 47.04 prohibit operation of or participation in a "gambling place," id. §§ 47.03(a)(1), .04(a), which Chapter 47 defines to include any property where gambling devices are played, id. § 47.01(3). And Chapter 47 defines the term "gambling device" to mean the following:

any electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance . . . that for a consideration affords the player an opportunity to obtain anything of value, the award of which is determined solely or partially by chance, even though accompanied by some skill, whether or not the prize is automatically paid by the contrivance.

Id. § 47.01(4) (emphases added) (footnote added). Your question requires us to determine whether the combination of a chance-based slot game and a subsequent skill-based memory game falls within this statutory definition, specifically, whether the award of value is determined "partially by chance, even though accompanied by some skill." See id.; Request Letter at 1.

[Footnote: The definition also expressly includes certain electronic games that "operate by chance or partially so, that as a result of the play or operation of the game award credits or free games," and that "record the number of free games or credits so awarded and the cancellation or removal of the free games or credits." TEX. PENAL CODE § 47.01(4)(A).]

Any element of chance suffices to render an electronic amusement machine a "gambling device" under Chapter 47 of the Penal Code.

Our office employs the same tools of statutory construction commonly utilized by courts. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0144 (2017) at 3. We therefore read subsection 47.01(4) in context, "giving effect to every word, clause, and sentence." In re Off. of Att'y Gen., 422 S.W.3d 623, 629 (Tex. 2013) (orig. proceeding). We begin with the text to determine and effectuate "the Legislature's intent as expressed by the plain and common meaning of the statute's words." F.F.P. Operating Partners, L.P. v. Duenez, 237 S.W.3d 680, 683 (Tex. 2007). And we "presume the Legislature selected statutory words, phrases, and expressions deliberately and purposefully and was just as careful in selecting the words, phrases, and expressions that were included or omitted." In re Xerox Corp., 555 S.W.3d 518, 527 (Tex. 2018).

Under subsection 47.01(4)'s plain language, a gambling device need not rely entirely, or even primarily, on chance. See TEX. PENAL CODE § 47.01(4). So long as chance plays any role in determining whether the player obtains something of value, the device satisfies the statutory definition. Texas courts have consistently applied this "plain and ordinary meaning." See, e.g., State v. Gambling Device, 859 S.W.2d 519, 523 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ denied). In particular, the First Court of Appeals explained that gambling devices under Chapter 47 include "contrivances that incorporate any element of chance, even if the exercise of skill also influences the outcome." Id. Indeed, "[e]ven a contrivance that is predominantly a game of skill may be determined by chance." Id. (emphasis added).

Applying these principles to the games you describe leads us to conclude that any award of value remains inextricably intertwined with the element of chance. A player must begin with the primary game that functions like a "video slot machine." Request Letter at 1. Such machines are widely recognized as games of chance. See State v. Fry, 867 S.W.2d 398, 402 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, no pet.) (recognizing that the Legislature intended Chapter 47's definition of gambling device "to reach devices such as slot machines," including a "video slot machine"). This first mode operates entirely by random symbol arrangement, over which the player has no control. Request Letter at 1. No credits or prizes are available except through this chance-based game. See id. Indeed, only after a loss of the primary game does the player gain access to the optional "Follow Me" skill-based portion of the game. Id. at 1–2. Thus, a player certainly has "an opportunity to obtain [something] of value[] . . . determined solely or partially by chance." TEX. PENAL CODE § 47.01(4). And the skill-based portion of the game does nothing to alter this fact. For these reasons, machines with the features you describe qualify as "gambling devices" under Chapter 47.

[Footnote: As presented, a player could win something of value purely through the chance-based mode and then simply stop playing. A lucky player may never even encounter the "Follow Me" mode at all. If a player never lost the chance-based round of play or simply declined to play the skill-based portion, the gains from earlier rounds would be realized purely pursuant to a game of chance.]

[Footnote: We need not address your second question, as it is contingent on us reaching the contrary conclusion that the machines you describe are games of skill and thus not subject to Chapter 47's prohibitions. See Request Letter at 1 (asking whether "a game of skill [may] award a prize in an amount greater than $5 in value").]

S U M M A R Y

An amusement machine that offers both a chance-based game mode as well as a skill-based mode is a gambling device under Penal Code Chapter 47 so long as chance plays any role in determining whether the player receives something of value, regardless of the presence of skill.

Very truly yours,

KEN PAXTON
Attorney General of Texas

BRENT WEBSTER, First Assistant Attorney General
RALPH MOLINA, Deputy First Assistant Attorney General
D. FORREST BRUMBAUGH, Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel
MICHAEL C. COTTON, Chair, Opinion Committee
AMY L. K. WILLS, Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee