Lubbock County Cracks Down on Game Rooms

These establishments are often associated with drugs, prostitution, and human trafficking. In Lubbock, however, the more established game rooms appeared more entrepreneurial, catering to a clientele of mostly lower-middle-class retirees rather than drug addicts or criminals.

Game rooms exploit the "Fuzzy Animal Rule," which limits prizes to $5 or 10 times the cost of a single play. Players win points and exchange them for silver coins or flecks, which can be converted to cash, skirting the legal restrictions.

Commissioner Corley worked with a local attorney to draft the ordinance, designed to withstand legal challenges. Judge Parrish, one of the few who read the proposal, introduced four amendments. Precinct 3 Commissioner Gilbert Flores admitted he wasn’t prepared, while Precinct 4 Commissioner Jordan Rackler’s priority was eliminating game rooms in his precinct.

The ordinance assigns enforcement to the sheriff’s office, despite previous reluctance from the sheriff to target game rooms. The chief deputy assured the court the sheriff would enforce the new regulations, likening it to compliance enforcement for sexually oriented businesses.

One amendment removed a clause preventing deputies from investigating other criminal activity during enforcement. Corley had inserted it to protect the county from lawsuits, referencing past unequal enforcement at strip clubs. The court unanimously removed the restriction.

Another amendment limited the county to just one game room license, down from the proposed 11. Parrish used census data to show only 34,575 residents live outside Lubbock city limits and the city limits of Idalou and Shallowater, justifying the reduction. The sole license was restricted to Corley’s Precinct 2, a decision that some saw as retaliation for Corley’s boycott of the judge's budget sessions that forced the county to adopt a No New Revenue tax rate that severely curtailed spending at the county in FY 2025.

A final amendment added restrictions on game rooms' proximity to churches, passing 5-0.

The ordinance requires game rooms to pay a $1,000 annual license fee, hire security, and operate only along state highways. They cannot operate 24 hours a day.

Parrish reiterated his opposition to game rooms, calling them illegitimate and urging the sheriff to crack down. He and Flores voted against the ordinance, while Corley, Rackler, and Precinct 1 Commissioner Terence Kovar voted in favor, adopting the new law.

However, the ordinance leaves the approximate 85 existing game rooms intact with a grandfather clause, as long as they comply with the new regulations on security, hours of operations, and distance from schools and other facilities. And, most importantly, if the existing game rooms pay the licensing fee. The new law goes into effect January 1, 2025.