{"id":442553,"date":"2026-09-21T03:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T03:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/442553\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T03:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T03:02:11","slug":"san-antonio-weighs-ban-on-gas-station-eight-liner-machines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/442553\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio weighs ban on gas station eight-liner machines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever walked into a gas station to grab a snack or a Gatorade, only to be baffled by a fellow shopper with glazed-over eyes, glued to a slot machine? Turns out, these machines have stirred up a lot of controversy \u2013 and even criminal investigations \u2013 in Texas, prompting a ruling from Texas Attorney General<\/a> Ken Paxton. Now San Antonio is trying to ban them <\/a>altogether, eliminating ne\u2019er-do-wells and legal loopholes.<\/p>\n

Gas station slot machines, often labeled \u201cskill games\u201d or eight<\/a>–liners<\/a>, are essentially an effort to work around Texas\u2019 anti-gambling laws. By law, these machines aren\u2019t supposed to give out cash prizes, and any rewards won are supposed to be worth $5 or less. But companies have rolled out versions that they claim require some level of skill (for example, memorizing a series of numbers and repeating them). Paxton closed that loophole earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Yet, they\u2019re still commonplace at gas stations and corner stores across San Antonio and throughout Texas. Many places have been busted<\/a> for bending or outright breaking these rules, and community members have shared stories with MySA suggesting the laws are being ignored in many places.<\/p>\n

\u201cI messed around and stuck $10 in and won $80 in a couple minutes,\u201d one local told MySA. \u201cI can definitely see how it could be super addicting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others say they\u2019ve won hundreds or know people who\u2019ve won thousands. That\u2019s concerning given the laws in place. Local law enforcement is cracking down on these illegal machines and their operators.<\/a><\/p>\n

According to data obtained by MySA from the Bexar County Sheriff\u2019s Office, six search warrants were issued, 11 business owners and staff were arrested and 32 citations were issued last year. Deputies confiscated more than 280 motherboards that year.<\/p>\n

So far in 2026, deputies have acted on three search warrants, confiscated 140 motherboards, charged eight defendants and issued 13 citations. And it\u2019s not just the Sheriff\u2019s Office uncovering these rings operating outside the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe San Antonio Police Department is aware of illegal gambling operations in San Antonio. This year, Detectives have located several gambling operations and seized over 200 machines in San Antonio,\u201d a San Antonio Police Department spokesperson told MySA.<\/p>\n

However, the criminal consequences are low. SAPD says violating the Texas Penal Code with these gambling machines is a Class C misdemeanor. While SAPD staff wasn\u2019t able to say whether there\u2019s been a rise or decline in illegal gambling in the city, they assured MySA that investigators continue to work these cases and track down illegal gambling operators.<\/p>\n

San Antonio\u2019s District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo is looking to rid the Alamo City of these illegal machines once and for all. Following in the footsteps of a handful of other metros, Castillo is calling for a clear ban on eight-liner machines.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite ongoing efforts, the continued operation of eight-liners in San Antonio undermines both the intent of the state law and the city\u2019s commitment to public safety and community well-being,\u201d Castillo said in her City Council address calling for a discussion about the ban at the next Governance Committee meeting.<\/p>\n

Four other City Council members backed and signed the call to action, including District 10 Councilman Marc\u00a0Whyte, District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito, District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan and District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia.<\/p>\n

But not everyone is against them. Many residents say the government should stay out of grown people\u2019s spending habits, and others want to fully legalize gambling in the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the machines,\u201d another resident told MySA. \u201cWe play \u2018em all the time. I personally think if people want to gamble, then let them gamble. It\u2019s not anyone else\u2019s money to say what they can spend it on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Have you ever walked into a gas station to grab a snack or a Gatorade, only to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[847,820,82,84,83],"class_list":["post-442553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-mysanews","tag-mysastaff","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}