Lawmakers in South Carolina have advanced an effort to repeal a ban on minors playing pinball, which was implemented last century.

The legislation was introduced last year but passed the state House Judiciary Committee unanimously on Tuesday, moving it to the full House floor for consideration. The law is seldom enforced, but Democratic state Rep. Todd Rutherford has led the effort to wipe the outdated statute from the books.

“I don’t see the evil that is being taken care of by maintaining its illegality,” Rutherford said, according to WCBD.

In state law, someone under the age of 18 playing a pinball machine is considered a “status offense” — meaning it is not a misdemeanor or felony. State code also says that other status offenses include “playing or loitering in a billiard room” and “gaining admission to a theater by false identification,” along with running away and truancy. The legislation would not strike the other status offenses listed in the law.

“I can tell you that the people that are operating these pinball places don’t want to break the law,” Rutherford said. “They also recognize that is the law as it stands right now. A lot of them are set up as restaurants. They have ABLs, and they don’t want to run afoul of their ABL license by knowingly violating the law.”

The ban on pinball machine usage for minors stems from the middle of the 20th century when parents were concerned over the luck involved in winning early pinball machines combined with the prizes for wins and cost to play the machine — likening it to a form of gambling.

Several states that had implemented a ban on pinball playing lifted it in the 1970s when skill was added to later iterations of the machines, according to States Newsroom.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

A prior attempt to lift the ban passed in the state House in 2022, but stalled in the state Senate.

The current legislative session is scheduled to adjourn on May 9, meaning lawmakers have more than a month to pass the measure in the state House and state Senate to send it to Gov. Henry McMaster’s (R-SC) desk for final approval.