Last week, the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee passed S 254, a bill that would change the state’s laws regarding private home poker games.
The current law, which was enacted in 1802, made any game involving cards or dice – such as poker, Yahtzee, or even Monopoly – a game of chance and illegal under South Carolina statutes. After a 2006 police raid on a home poker game in the town of Mount Pleasant, where police issued the 22 participants citations for gambling and confiscated over $6,000, politicians in South Carolina have talked about revisiting the laws to make them more contemporary.
By a 15-6 vote, the committee passed the measure, which would change the antiquated laws regarding games of chance that are conducted in a citizen’s home. The current language in the bill does not set any limits as to what would constitute a home poker game, but it does expressly forbid the house from taking a rake or using any electronic devices.
The bill now heads to the South Carolina Senate, where the situation may become a bit dicey.
According to the Herald Online, a Rock Hill, South Carolina newspaper, those who oppose the bill fear it could open up the state to a wider spectrum of gambling. The Herald article, written by John O’Connor, explains that a previous lawsuit that struck down part of the state’s budget in the 1980s opened the door for video poker. S 254, some opponents believe, would allow for “home casinos.”
The bill creates “fertile ground for high-paid gambling attorneys to hammer away and create a loophole,” the Herald article quotes State Senator Chip Campsen (R-Charleston), as saying.
A senator who supports the bill, Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg), points out that there is language in the bill that prevents any expansion of gambling. The next to last line of the legislation reads, “Nothing… may be construed to allow electronic gambling machines or devices, slot machines, or video poker play or to change or alter in any manner the prohibitions regarding video poker.”
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the grassroots advocacy group for poker, has been at the forefront of the battle over South Carolina’s gaming laws. The PPA has aided five of the Mount Pleasant players who have taken the fight over their convictions all the way to the South Carolina Supreme Court.
In a press released following the Judiciary committee’s vote, PPA Executive Director John Pappas stated, “We are encouraged by the Senate’s overwhelming vote to replace the antiquated law restricting South Carolina’s basic citizen’s rights to enjoy a friendly game of poker in their home. Although the debate is far from over, this step represents a significant opportunity for lawmakers to fix misguided legislation on behalf of the individual rights of their constituents.”
The PPA’s South Carolina State Director, John Ridgeway, echoed Pappas’ statements: “Poker is an American pastime that is enjoyed by thousands of South Carolinians in the comfort of their own homes. Now is the time for lawmakers to protect their citizens’ individual rights and freedoms by distinguishing this game of skill from games of chance. The PPA looks forward to working with the South Carolina Senate to pass this critical piece of legislation.”
Currently, the Mount Pleasant case is under review by the South Carolina Supreme Court. In October, the Court heard the case, but a decision has not yet been rendered.
