Game room bust: Brazoria County authorities close over 10 game room facilities

BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas - Over 10 game room facilities are now closed in Brazoria County, authorities announced on Wednesday.

What we know:

Officials said the facilities were operating without proper permits in violation of the county's game room ordinance. 

The ordinance, which was instituted by the Brazoria County Commissioners Court in March 2024, established clear permitting requirements for game room operations. 

Officials stated that over 30 game rooms have successfully completed the permit process to date. 

Authorities said the facilities that were closed on Wednesday failed to meet requirements despite multiple opportunities to do so. 

The closed businesses will remain closed until they come into compliance with the ordinance, officials said. 

Any owners who continue to operate without a permit may face up to $10,000 in fines or arrest on a Class A misdemeanor charge.

What we don't know:

Officials did not provide a list of the locations that were closed on Wednesday.

Dig deeper:

As you may recall, FOX 26 reported about multiple game room raids taking place just last week across the Houston area. 

A 61-year-old man was among 45 people arrested for a multi-million-dollar scheme involving illegal game rooms in the Houston area. According to federal officials, 30 of the man's game rooms were the target of the police raids.

Over 720 law enforcement agents and officers were involved in the raids. The operation involved about 20 local and federal agencies, including Houston police, the Harris County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the IRS, and the FBI.

Officials raided 45 locations in total across the Houston area, including 30 alleged illegal gaming rooms with names like "El Portal" and "Yellow Building."

Ganjei says the raids were the result of a five-year "Operation Double Down" operation involving multiple agencies. Officials were executing 85 warrants and a 37-count indictment against 16 suspects.