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Casino boats in Horry County must give detailed financial reports of their winnings to the state, according to a state administrative law judge ruling released Friday.
The decision opens the door to county taxation of South Carolina's only two gambling boats, both of which operate out of Little River.
Florida-based SunCruz Casinos filed suit in October claiming it was not required to turn over records on individual machine winnings to the state Department of Revenue.
"After carefully weighing the evidence ... I find that [Suncruz] must include in its monthly reports filed with the department the amount wagered and the amount paid out as prize money for each table game and machine operated," Chief Judge Marvin Kittrell wrote.
SunCruz will appeal the decision, spokesman Keith Gold said. The revenue department said it had not received the ruling Friday and had no comment.
Casino boats draw about 250,000 gamblers to the area each year, according to industry figures supplied to the county.
In March, Horry County decided to tax SunCruz and newcomer Diamond Casinos the maximum allowed by state law instead of declaring a casino boat ban.
The county is not a party in the lawsuit but, if the ruling stands, it could use the new financial data to calculate a 5 percent tax on the casinos' gross proceeds.
The ruling "is in our favor. It basically says they have to report their winnings on a machine-by-machine basis rather than giving a summary deal," County Attorney John Weaver said.
SunCruz has said for the past year it will pay a small boarding fee but is balking at opening its books for the 5 percent proceeds tax, arguing that gambling occurs in federal waters and is illegal in South Carolina.
The combination of a 10 percent boarding fee and the gambling proceed tax could net hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in new revenue for Horry County.
The tax conflict could also determine the fate of the historic Little River waterfront, a fishing village that's quickly disappearing among new homes and development.
Two SunCruz executives own about half of the waterfront land and said in May they are considering redeveloping it into housing - an option they might exercise if they and the county cannot negotiate a deal on boarding fees, which they have been trying to do for more than a year.
The land could be turned into condominiums or other housing under its existing zoning and would not require any approval by Horry County Council.
Top SunCruz executives were traveling Friday and not available for comment, Gold said.
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