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(A) The proposed site of placement of any amusement redemption machine or gaming room must comply with the following before a city operations license can be issued.
(1) Amusement redemption machines or gaming rooms may only be permitted in the General Business District in the city limits.
(2) (a) No amusement redemption machine or gaming room shall be located within 300 feet of a residential use or residential district, church, school, daycare, city park, library, or public swimming pool.
(b) The distance shall be measured in a straight line without regard to interfering objects or structures from property line to property, or property line to district boundary, whichever is more restrictive.
(3) No gaming room or amusement redemption machine shall be located within 1,000 feet of any other gaming room or property which contains amusement redemption machines, measured from property line to property line.
(4) Any gaming room must provide transparent glass in at least one exterior gaming room window with a dimension of at least four feet in width and four feet in height, and shall not cover or otherwise block or obscure the view through the gaming room window by the use of drawn shades, blinds, partitions, tinting, or other structures or obstructions. The window shall allow a clear, unobstructed view of the manager station and all amusement redemption machines in the gaming room.
(5) The sale, purchase, possession, or consumption of any alcoholic beverages as defined by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code shall not be permitted.
(6) Only one gaming room shall be allowed on any lot or in any single building, structure, or tenant space in a strip center.
(B) In addition to the requirements listed in division (A), the machine owner, proprietor/store owner, and manager must all undergo a background check.
(C) No permit shall be issued to a person who has a felony criminal conviction or any conviction pertaining to an offense which promotes gambling.
(D) Existing gaming rooms or businesses with amusement redemption machines must comply with divisions (A)(1), (A)(4), and (A)(6), and all new businesses will comply with all provisions of this section within 60 days of the effective date of this chapter.
(Ord. 2018-01, passed 6-21-2018)
(A) A proprietor of any business, building, or space intending to establish a gaming room or to place amusement redemption machines in their establishment must first apply for a gaming room/gaming device license at City Hall.
(1) An onsite inspection will be conducted by the Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector and the Chief of Police to ensure all prerequisites for licensing are met.
(2) If the prerequisites for licensing are not met, the application will be denied.
(a) The proprietor will be given 30 days from the date of denial to comply with the licensing prerequisites.
(b) If after 30 days the prerequisites are not met, the application will be denied and the proprietor and/or business will be excluded from re-applying for the license for a period of six months.
(3) If all prerequisites are met and the Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector and Chief of Police have approved the application, then the proprietor/business owner must provide a $200 licensing fee to the city. This will ensure a license to operate for a period of one year.
(4) Operating a gaming room or amusement redemption machine without a city operations license is a violation of this chapter each day that the business is operating the gaming room or amusement redemption machine.
(B) Once a city operating license is obtained, the proprietor/business owner must register each machine that will be placed in the business. Registration includes the serial number of the machine, owner of the machine, the owner of the space, and the manager of the business.
(C) A manager of the business or the owner of the business must report any change of ownership or managers within ten business days. Any change of ownership or new transfer of ownership will be subject to all regulations and restrictions contained in this chapter. Failure to comply is a violation of this chapter.
(D) Any removal or addition of an amusement redemption machine must be reported to the city within three business days.
(E) A new amusement redemption machine must have a proper occupations tax sticker before it can be operated.
(F) A city occupations tax of $15 will be imposed on each machine per year pursuant to Tex. Occupations Code § 2153.451. Each machine being operated without a city occupations tax sticker will be in violation of this chapter each day it is being operated.
(Ord. 2018-01, passed 6-21-2018)
(A) Any establishment containing amusement redemption machines:
(1) Shall not permit operation of the machines between the hours of Sunday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. (midnight). Playing of these machines after hours is a violation of this code for both the manager on site and the person playing the machine;
(2) Shall not permit any person under the age of 18 to play any amusement redemption machine;
(3) Are limited to the operation of amusement redemption machines only. Gambling devices shall not be allowed;
(5) Must allow the Chief of Police, Code Enforcement Officer, and Building Inspector, or their designees, to inspect the amusement redemption machines during the normal hours of operation.
(B) Any gaming room must:
(2) Comply with division (A) of this section;
(3) Not operate more than ten machines in any game room. Current existing businesses prior to passing this chapter may keep the same amount of machines; however, if the business currently operates ten machines or more, no more may be added to the business location. Once this chapter passes, the city will do an inventory of machines in each location;
(4) Must post the words "GAME ROOM" in black four inch letters with a white background on the front of the gaming room at the entrance that is visible for at least 25 feet;
(5) Must post a sign at the entrance of the game room that states the following in two inch black lettering with a white background:
“GAMBLING AND THE PROMOTION OF GAMBLING IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IS ILLEGAL. THIS BUSINESS DOES NOT PAY CASH IN LIEU OF WINNINGS FROM ANY AMUSEMENT REDEMPTION MACHINE.”
(6) Must allow the Chief of Police, Code Enforcement Officer, and Building Inspector, or their designees, to inspect the gaming room and amusement redemption machines during the normal hours of operation.
(Ord. 2018-01, passed 6-21-2018)
(A) The first violation of this chapter with result in a fine not to exceed $200, and a 15- day mandatory suspension of the establishment’s city operations license.
(B) A second violation will result in a fine not to exceed $300, and a 30-day mandatory suspension of the establishment’s city operations license.
(C) A third violation of this chapter will result in a fine not to exceed $500, and an indefinite suspension of the establishment’s city operations license. An establishment will not be eligible to reapply for a city operations license for a period of two years from the date of the start of the indefinite suspension.
(Ord. 2018-01, passed 6-21-2018)