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City of Fort Worth v. Rylie: A Timeline of Texas's Eight-Liner Ruling

By GamesOfSkillMag Editorial5 min read
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City of Fort Worth v. Rylie is the Texas case that decided whether eight-liner slot-style machines qualify for the Penal Code's "fuzzy animal" prize-value exclusion or are unconstitutional lotteries. The Second Court of Appeals ruled on March 17, 2022 that eight-liners meet the constitutional definition of a lottery. The Texas Supreme Court denied review on December 15, 2023, making that holding final.

2014-2015: Fort Worth Cracks Down on Game Rooms

In 2014, the City of Fort Worth adopted strict zoning and licensing ordinances aimed at game rooms operating eight-liner machines, effective in 2015. The rules confined game rooms to industrially zoned land and required them to sit at least 1,000 feet from schools, churches, and residential areas, according to reporting from the Fort Worth Report and Fort Worth Inc. City officials pointed to concerns about the concentration of game rooms near residential neighborhoods as the reason for the restrictions.

The Lawsuit: Preemption and the Fuzzy Animal Exclusion

Game room operators Stephannie Rylie, doing business as Texas C&D Amusements, Inc., and Brian and Lisa Scott of River Bottom Pub sued Fort Worth. Their central argument was preemption: that Texas Penal Code Chapter 47's exclusion for machines paying out only non-cash prizes of limited value, commonly called the fuzzy animal exclusion, made eight-liners a state-sanctioned activity that a city could not separately zone and license out of existence. The case is styled City of Fort Worth v. Rylie, Second Court of Appeals cause No. 02-17-00185-CV, with the Texas Supreme Court case numbered No. 18-1231.

Rylie II: The Texas Supreme Court's 2020 Remand

The dispute reached the Texas Supreme Court, which issued its opinion in what is now referred to as Rylie II, 602 S.W.3d 459 (Tex. 2020). The court held that the underlying legality and constitutionality of eight-liner machines was directly relevant to whether state law preempted Fort Worth's ordinance, and it remanded the case to the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth to decide that threshold question first. The full opinion is available from the Texas Supreme Court.

March 17, 2022: Eight-Liners Ruled Unconstitutional Lotteries

On remand, the Second Court of Appeals ruled on March 17, 2022 that eight-liners are lotteries under Article III, Section 47 of the Texas Constitution, which requires the Legislature to pass laws prohibiting lotteries and gift enterprises. The court reasoned that eight-liner games contain the three elements of a constitutional lottery, chance, consideration, and prize, and held that the Legislature cannot define a game meeting that constitutional definition out of lottery status through a statutory carve-out like the fuzzy animal exclusion without a constitutional amendment. That reasoning is detailed by the Texas Civil Justice League, and the constitutional text itself is published at Texas Constitution, Article III, Section 47. The ruling effectively removed the legal footing for the preemption argument and cleared the way for Fort Worth's ordinance to stand.

December 15, 2023: Finality at the Texas Supreme Court

Rylie and the Scotts petitioned the Texas Supreme Court for review of the Second Court of Appeals decision. The court denied that petition on December 15, 2023, according to the Texas Civil Justice League. The denial left the Second Court of Appeals' unconstitutionality holding as the final, controlling decision within that appellate district, and it is widely treated as persuasive authority statewide.

Timeline at a Glance

  • 2014-2015: Fort Worth adopts and enforces game room zoning and licensing ordinances.

  • 2020: Texas Supreme Court issues Rylie II, 602 S.W.3d 459, and remands the constitutionality question.

  • March 17, 2022: Second Court of Appeals holds eight-liners are unconstitutional lotteries under Article III, Section 47.

  • December 15, 2023: Texas Supreme Court denies the petition for review, making the ruling final.

What It Means for Operators and Cities

The ruling does not add a new statewide statute criminalizing eight-liners. What it does is remove the constitutional footing for the fuzzy animal exclusion as a defense against local regulation, and it confirms that Texas cities can enforce zoning and licensing ordinances against eight-liner game rooms without those ordinances being preempted by state law. Reporting from the Texas Civil Justice League and the Fort Worth Report notes that other Texas municipalities, including Orange and Kemah, have cited the precedent while moving on their own game room restrictions. Operators and vendors should treat the Rylie litigation as confirmation that local ordinances carry legal weight in the Second Court of Appeals district and beyond, not as a resolution of every open question about eight-liner regulation statewide.

Sources

Reporting is for information, not legal advice. A vendor listing or the term skill game does not establish a machine's legality in any jurisdiction.

Frequently asked questions

What did City of Fort Worth v. Rylie decide?

The Second Court of Appeals held on March 17, 2022 that eight-liner machines meet the constitutional definition of a lottery under Article III, Section 47 of the Texas Constitution, and that the Penal Code's fuzzy animal exclusion cannot override that constitutional status without a state constitutional amendment.

When did the ruling become final?

The Texas Supreme Court denied the petition for review on December 15, 2023, leaving the Second Court of Appeals' holding as final, controlling law within that appellate district.

What is the fuzzy animal exclusion?

It refers to the Texas Penal Code Chapter 47 provision excluding machines that pay out only non-cash prizes of limited value, such as stuffed animals, from the definition of an illegal gambling device; plaintiffs argued this exclusion legalized eight-liners statewide.

Does the Rylie ruling ban eight-liners across all of Texas?

No. The ruling does not itself create a new statewide criminal statute; it removes the constitutional footing for the fuzzy animal defense and confirms that cities like Fort Worth can enforce local zoning and licensing ordinances against eight-liner game rooms.

Who were the parties in the case?

The plaintiffs were Stephannie Rylie of Texas C&D Amusements, Inc. and Brian and Lisa Scott of River Bottom Pub, who sued the City of Fort Worth over its 2014 game room zoning and licensing ordinances.