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Judiciary committee moves to block sweepstakes/video‑poker machines in alcohol‑serving establishments, reports bill favorably
Summary
After an extended debate and testimony from law-enforcement witnesses, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 17–2 to report favorably a bill clarifying that Internet sweepstakes machines that function like video poker are not legal where alcohol is sold.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to report favorably a bill intended to shut down Internet sweepstakes machines that resemble classic video‑poker devices in alcohol‑serving establishments.
Senator from Aiken, the subcommittee chair, told the panel S.3 was drafted to close an apparent loophole created by contradictory magistrate rulings and to make clear that Title 12 prohibitions on video poker apply despite overlapping language in Title 61. He said law‑enforcement witnesses and the attorney general’s office recommended the clarification to prevent operators from exploiting the inconsistency.
"This legislation has come about because we've had a few magistrate rulings that have suggested that there is a loophole...we're starting to see more of a proliferation of these type machines across the state now," the subcommittee chair said, summarizing testimony he heard in subcommittee.
Committee members debated procedure and public input. One senator urged the committee to carry the bill over to allow machine owners and other industry witnesses to testify; others said seizures and magistrate rulings overwhelmingly support the machines' illegality. A law‑enforcement official was reported to have told the subcommittee that SLED seizures were upheld in magistrate courts and that more than 1,000 machines had been seized in enforcement actions.
The subcommittee chair and other members said they had asked the attorney general's office and SLED whether the bill would fix the problem; both reportedly said the bill would help enforcement. Opponents warned the move singles out a subset of businesses and urged a more comprehensive approach; proponents replied that a narrowly tailored fix was needed to stop an immediate expansion of the devices.
After debate, the committee voted to give the bill a favorable report to the full Senate by a recorded show-of-hands tally the chair announced as 17–2, with a minority report expected from the senator who opposed the measure.
The committee will transmit the bill and the subcommittee report to the Senate floor where further debate and possible amendments may occur.
