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S.C. Code Ann. § 12-21-2720

License for coin-operated devices or machines; license tax; maximum municipal license charges; special one-time interim fees

Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case Martin v. Stewart (2007)

Most recently applied in Martin v. Stewart (August 2007)

1986 Act No. 308 SECTION 4; 1986 Act No. 540, Part II, SECTION 26A; 1987 Act No. 170, Part II, SECTION 3A; 1990 Act No. 612, SECTION 4; 1991 Act No. 171, Part II, SECTION 14A; 1…

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19952000200720
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Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(A) Every person who maintains for use or permits the use of, on a place or premises occupied by him, one or more of the following machines or devices shall apply for and procure from the South Carolina Department of Revenue a license effective for two years for the privilege of making use of the machine in South Carolina and shall pay for the license a tax of fifty dollars for each machine in item (1), two hundred dollars for each machine in item (2), and four thousand dollars for each machine in item (3):

(1) a machine for the playing of music or kiddy rides operated by a slot or mechanical amusement devices and juke boxes in which is deposited a coin or thing of value. A machine on which an admissions tax is imposed is exempt from the C.O.D. license provisions of this section.

(2) a machine for the playing of amusements or video games, without free play feature, or machines of the crane type operated by a slot in which is deposited a coin or thing of value and a machine for the playing of games or amusements, which has a free play feature, operated by a slot in which is deposited a coin or thing of value, and the machine is of the nonpayout pin table type with levers or "flippers" operated by the player by which the course of the balls may be altered or changed. A machine required to be licensed under this item is exempt from the license fee if an admissions tax is imposed.

(3) a machine of the nonpayout type, or in-line pin game, operated by a slot in which is deposited a coin or thing of value except machines of the nonpayout pin table type with levers or flippers" operated by the player by which the course of the balls may be altered or changed.

(B) No municipality may limit the number of machines within the boundaries of the municipality. A municipality may by ordinance impose a license fee on machines licensed pursuant to subsection (A)(3) of this section in an amount not exceeding ten percent of three thousand six hundred dollars of the license fee imposed pursuant to subsection (A) for the equivalent license period.

(C) The owner or operator of any coin-operated device subject to licensing under Section 12-21-2720(A)(3) and which has multi-player stations, shall purchase a separate license for each such station.

(D) A county may by ordinance impose a license fee on machines licensed pursuant to subsection (A)(3) of this section located in an unincorporated area of the county in an amount not exceeding ten percent of three thousand six hundred dollars of the license fee imposed pursuant to subsection (A) for the equivalent license period.

(E) The Department of Revenue is authorized to assess an additional fee of fifty dollars on each Class Two coin-operated machine license authorized in this section. These funds must be collected by the Department of Revenue and sent to the State Law Enforcement Division to offset the cost of video gaming enforcement. The State Law Enforcement Division shall retain, expend, and carry forward these funds.

Official source: South Carolina Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.