Beaufort magistrate: Destroy gaming machines

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — A Beaufort magistrate has ruled that the machines seized from a Bluffton sweepstakes business were being used for gambling and should be destroyed.

Solicitor Duffie Stone says Beaufort County Magistrate Darlene Smith ruled Tuesday that South Carolina’s gambling statute applies to 20 computers seized in September from Hest Sweepstakes.

Magistrate judges in courts around the state are considering similar cases dealing with the question of whether sweepstakes machines are against the state’s prohibition on video gambling. The issue could eventually come before the state Supreme Court.

An Horry County judge recently ruled that Magic Minutes machines, which sell phone card minutes before offering a sweepstakes option, violate video gaming law and should be destroyed. But last month, a Greenville County judge decided that another sweepstakes game is legal.