VP Machines Seized in SC

[Thomas]

The state Supreme Court's ban on video gambling seven years ago hasn't stopped video poker machines from turning up in businesses across South Carolina.

Dozens of video poker machines are seized by the State Law Enforcement Division each month despite the ban.

SLED Chief Robert Stewart says his agents seize about 100 video poker machines a month as the industry develops new games it claims are games of skill rather than chance.

Officials with the state attorney general's office says there should be a law with greater penalties, but at least one state senator has suggested making video poker legal.

Charleston state Senator Robert Ford says legalizing video poker and taxing the profits at 30 percent would generate $900 million a year to repair the state's highways.

Agents have seized more than 5,500 machines since 2002.