Bingo Bank, Inc. v. Strom, 20422

• Decision Date: 10 May 1977
• Docket Number: No. 20422,20422
• Citation: 234 S.E.2d 881,268 S.C. 498
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: BINGO BANK, INC., Respondent, v. J. P. STROM, Chief, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Appellant.

Page 881

234 S.E.2d 881

268 S.C. 498

BINGO BANK, INC., Respondent, v. J. P. STROM, Chief, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division,

Appellant.

No. 20422.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

May 10, 1977.

Atty. Gen. Daniel R. McLeod, Deputy Atty. Gen. Joseph C. Coleman, Asst. Atty. Gen. Harry W. Davis, Jr., and Staff Atty. Cameron B. Littlejohn, Jr., Columbia, for appellant.

Robert E. Kneece, of Kneece, Kneece & Freeman, Columbia, for respondent.

LEWIS, Chief Justice:

The operation of the game "Bingo Bank" upon its premises near Walterboro, South Carolina, by respondent, Bingo Bank, Inc., during December 1975 and January 1976, brought about the arrest of certain of respondent's employees on charges of violation of South Carolina gaming laws. Respondent contended that it was operating the game of bingo as permitted by Article 17, Section 7, of the South Carolina Constitution and brought this action to restrain the appellant and other agents of the State Law Enforcement Division from taking further action to stop respondent's "Bingo Bank" operations. The lower court granted the restraining order sought, holding that respondent's activities constituted the game of bingo as presently permitted under the South Carolina Constitution. This appeal is from that order. We reverse.

Prior to its amendment in 1975, Article 17, Section 7, of the Constitution made unlawful the operation of any lottery in this State, but was amended in 1975 to permit "the game of bingo" under certain conditions. As amended, Section 7 of Article 17, at the times pertinent to the present issues, was as follows:

"No lottery shall ever be allowed or advertised by newspapers, or otherwise, or its tickets be sold in this State. The game of bingo, when conducted by charitable, religious or fraternal organizations exempt from Federal income taxation or when conducted at recognized annual State and County fairs, shall not be deemed a lottery prohibited by this section."

The sole question for decision is whether the "Bingo Bank" operated by respondent constituted "the game of bingo" permitted by Article 17, Section 7, of the Constitution.

Section 7 contains no definition of the game of bingo. However, the record shows that the game of bingo has been played at various churches and organizations for years prior to the 1975 amendment to Section 7. Appellant properly concludes from the testimony and common knowledge that it was "because of the illegality of the game of bingo and its general social acceptance" that the amendment in question was adopted.

The 1975 amendment refers to the "game of bingo, when conducted by charitable, religious or fraternal organizations . . . or at recognized State and County fairs." The conclusion is inescapable, therefore, that "the game of bingo" under the 1975 amendment refers to the game previously played illegally by charitable organizations throughout the State. The testimony clearly describes the game of bingo customarily played in this State by such organizations and is the "bingo" referred to in the constitutional provision in question.

The "game of bingo" is played by the use of a card on which is printed twenty-five squares arranged in five rows of five squares each. The word "Bingo" is at the top of the card, with one letter at the top of each column. The squares on the card contain twenty-four numbers and one free space. The numbers in the five squares under the letter "B" range from one to fifteen, under the letter "I" from sixteen to thirty, under the letter "N" from thirty-one to forty-five, under the letter "G" from forty-six to sixty, and under the letter "O" from sixty-one to seventy-five. Each card used by the players contains a different...