Two gambling bills died in the South Carolina House recently, the latest in a string of defeats for the gambling industry. Last month, lawmakers in Kentucky and Massachusetts rejected gambling proposals.
South Carolina House Bill 4263 was supposed to legalize arcade games, but Dr. Oran Smith, president of the Palmetto Family Alliance, said gambling advocates had their eyes on a bigger prize.
"It very easily could have meant video poker or a return to video gambling," he said. "We were able to explain that to the Legislature."
A second bill, to legalize high-stakes poker games if played for recreational purposes, also was misleading, Smith said.
“There was a great smoke screen that was put out by the pro-gambling crowd to say that we needed this to make sure that little old ladies weren’t being arrested," he said. "But that’s really not the case, and again the House saw it our way, and they killed it in committee.”
Tom Grey, spokesman and field director for the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, said Americans finally are recognizing the gambling industry’s promises are empty.
“We won statewide referendums — 10 in a row over three years," he said. "Citizens are saying, 'Enough is enough. We don’t want to go any further with casino-style gambling.' "
Smith said the battle in South Carolina is expected to resume next year.
"We’re going to be ready for them like we were this year," he said. "And we’ll be able to stave it off once again.”
