Harris County officials have drafted a new set of proposed regulations regarding game room rules in the unincorporated parts of the county because of increased illegal gambling activity.

"Because these businesses keep their front door locked and windows dark and tinted, there's no ability to come in and observe to see if illegal activity is going on or not," Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said. "These regulations will allow the county to have the same privileges the city [of Houston] does, so if a law enforcement officer knows where a game room is, they're allowed to walk in the door and see what's going on."

Following the city of Houston's ordinance to better regulate game rooms, many of the businesses moved out to the unincorporated areas of the county, according to officials. Because the county does not have the same tools to fight the illegal activity as the city of Houston does, law enforcement officials have to complete a full-fledged sting to shut down an illegal game room, Cagle said.

"They have to go undercover, and that can be an expensive and difficult process," he said.

The proposed regulations are also designed so that entities that are repeat offenders will be more easily prosecuted by the county.

"We're able to reach behind the revolving door of one day it's one name, the next day it's another," Cagle said. "When law enforcement goes to the trouble of making that bust, the bust sticks."

There are nearly 400 game rooms in unincorporated Harris County, most of which are legal game rooms such as bingo halls, which the proposed regulations are not meant to negatively affect. Harris County officials hosted two public hearings regarding the regulations in November and heard from several individuals affiliated with local bingo halls, most of whom stated the need for tighter regulations in the county.

Joel Stocarski is the owner of a Houston-area bingo hall and said he has seen the business at his 28-year-old hall drop nearly in half because of nearby game rooms that do not have restrictions on the amount of cash that can be given away.

"There's about 10 game rooms down the street from us, and it's like we've got a casino in our neighborhood and no one is doing anything about it," he said. "They can give away any amount of money they want to, but as a bingo hall owner, I'm restricted by law in the amount I can give away."

After the public hearings, the county must now go back and review the public input and work with the county attorney and district attorney to ensure everything in the proposed regulations is enforceable.

The regulations will ultimately need approval from Harris County Commissioners Court to be put into effect in the county.