South Carolina Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Gaming Law

The South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday dealing with the arrests of five Mount Pleasant men in 2006 for a playing a home game of Texas hold’em.

As it was written in 1802, the state’s gaming law bans all card or dice games. Originally, the local court had found the five individuals guilty of illegal gambling in a private residence. However, at the higher court level Circuit Judge R. Markley Dennis, Jr. wrote that poker was clearly a game of skill, not of chance, and therefore did not constitute gaming, or gambling, under South Carolina law. In overturning the local court’s ruling, he added that the current law is too vague and overbroad.

The case was brought before the Supreme Court Tuesday by the state’s Assistant Attorney General, Sonny Jones, to argue that the initial convictions of the individuals for illegal gambling were correct. Jones openly agreed that casual home games do not violate the state law, but told the court that the real legal issue was that the five Mount Pleasant men had advertised the game over the internet and a cut of the prize pool was taken by the host, making the location a “house of gaming” and therefore illegal.

Representing the home game players, Billy Wilkins argued that the home where the game was played was simply a typical residence, not a gambling facility, and that money was collected at the door to cover food costs. Wilkins, along with the Poker Players Alliance, restated the relevance of poker being a game of skill and not “gaming” at all, thereby not covered by the state’s gaming laws.

After hearing both sides, the justices will take a few months before issuing their decision.

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