Slot machine manufacturing is outlawed in state

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Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2000 | 11:09 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Making a video gambling machine in South Carolina is illegal, even if the software to run the machine is installed elsewhere, a judge has ruled.

Select Electronic Devices Inc. sued the state, saying that possession of an inoperable video gambling machine was not illegal. The Greenville company installs the software to operate the games out-of-state.

But Circuit Court Judge John C. Few ruled that still violates the statewide ban on the machines that went into effect July 1.

Attorney General Charlie Condon, whose office argued the case on behalf of the State Law Enforcement Division, called the ruling another victory in the fight to drive every trace of video gambling out of South Carolina.

"The video gambling industry cannot sneak in through the back door when it has been sent packing through the front," Condon said.