LAST MINUTE DECISION OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT VOIDS VIDEO POKER REFERENDUM

On Thursday, October 14, the Supreme Court of South Carolina handed down an opinion which was a body blow to the state’s operators and its economy. Last July, a South Carolina law went into effect which provided for a public referendum on the question of video poker. On November 2, the People of South Carolina would have had the opportunity to express their will be casting "yes" or "no" votes to the following question. "Shall cash payouts for credits earned on video game machines continue to be allowed after June 30, 2000?" The law provided for an end to video poker unless the People voted "yes".

From all indications, the vote would have been a close one. However, a lawsuit by interested parties brought before the South Carolina Supreme Court, two questions. The first question was whether the South Carolina General Assembly had the power to delegate to the People, the authority to make the laws. The second question depended on the answer to the first one. If the General Assembly did not have this power and therefore there were no referendum on video poker, would the part of the law that ended video poker in the absence of a "yes", still be the law of South Carolina?

The Supreme Court held that there is no provision in the South Carolina constitution for the legislature to change the form of government. It held that a law made directly by the People is made by a form of government different from the representative democracy provided for in the constitution. It followed, said the Court, that making law by referendum is an unconstitutional process in South Carolina.

The Court then looked at the law that had been passed. This law provided that video poker for cash payouts and similar forms of gambling would become prohibited as of July 1, 2000, unless there were a "yes" vote. The Court determined that this part of the law was severable from the part which provided for the referendum, and would go into effect automatically.

The Supreme Court’s opinion has caused the South Carolina video poker controversy to go back to the legislature. It will reconvene earlier next year and at that time the Industry will likely present a platform not merely based on video poker, freedom of choice, and revenue for the State, but also upon the righteous cause of allowing the People of South Carolina to express their will effectively. The statement long attributed to Otto Von Bismarck seems to be especially applicable here: "Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made."

The Supreme Court’s decision was handed down well past this magazine’s copy deadline for its columnists. Accordingly, in our column, Redemption and the Law, there is an analysis of the situation as it stood before the Supreme Court’s opinion.

Copyright: Thomas F. Fricke
1999 St. Louis, Missouri, USA
All rights reserved
PlayMeter ARTICLE #37