SC high court upholds destroying gambling machines

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld the destruction of seven video gambling machines even though lawyers for the owners of the devices argued that authorities never proved that most of the machines were capable of playing outlawed games.

The justices ruled unanimously Monday in favor of the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

An attorney for the owner of the machines says it is not fair to let the government take his client’s property because an undercover agent only videotaped herself playing one of the seven games that were seized.

The justices disagreed, saying the burden of proof was on the owner of the machines to show it was impossible to play an outlawed game on the devices.