COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Some South Carolina legislators say they'll try again to legalize games of poker between friends and church raffle tickets.
Efforts to modernize South Carolina's centuries-old gambling laws have repeatedly died since 2007. That's when a raid on a Mount Pleasant home led to the arrest of 22 poker-players, including a 79-year-old woman.
Proponents argued tweaking the law was common sense, opponents feared any change could lead to outright gambling.
A South Carolina law on the books since 1802 makes illegal any game with cards or dice, which could include common family games like Monopoly and popular social games like Bunko. Some courts have interpreted the law to criminalize games of chance, not skill.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell plans to introduce a bill to define when a poker game is legal.
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