SC Panel OKs Bill Restricting Video Gaming

MEG KINNARD

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina banned video gaming a dozen years ago after a legal battle that went all the way to the state Supreme Court. But proponents of restrictive legislation advanced by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee Wednesday say that manufacturers of new gaming machines may have found a legal loophole.

New machines that have popped up in the state's bars and convenience stores are being marketed as "sweepstakes" devices, selling a product like long-distance phone cards or Internet service and then offering customers a chance to receive prizes. Proponents of the devices say that, while they may look like the banned machines, they are really more akin to contests offered by stores, grocers and even the McDonald's restaurant chain, whose "Monopoly" game offers the chance to win cash and merchandise.

Law officers in some areas have rounded up some of the machines, arguing that they violate the state's video gambling prohibition. But judges around the state have issued conflicting rulings on the machines' legality, and the question may ultimately end up before the state Supreme Court. Mark Keel, chief of the State Law Enforcement Division, has said he wants to see how the issue shakes out in court before dedicating officers to rounding up and destroying the machines.

After prompting from prosecutors, Sen. Larry Martin said he introduced a bill that would clarify existing state law to read that regulations on bingo and raffles do not allow any devices currently prohibited under the state's video gambling ban — hopefully, according to Martin, closing the loophole under which the new gaming manufacturers are operating.

On Wednesday, Martin told the legislative panel that he fears the new machines' arrival signals the resurgence of video poker, something he implored lawmakers to address this year.

"If it's not addressed this session ... it's only going to mushroom even more," Martin said. "It's going to put in play the whole specter of video poker on every street corner."