It sounds like something straight out of the 1950s, but until recently, it was actually illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to play pinball in South Carolina.

That all changed after Governor Henry McMaster signed a new law removing pinball from the state’s list of status offenses for minors, officially ending a ban that had been in place since 1959.

The original law dates back to a time when pinball was viewed as a form of gambling. Before the addition of flippers, players simply launched a ball and hoped for the best, with some businesses even offering prizes and attracting bets. Lawmakers also worried kids would skip school or spend their lunch money playing the machines.

Once flippers were introduced in the late 1940s, pinball became a game of skill rather than chance. A California Supreme Court ruling in 1974 helped convince most states to lift their bans, but South Carolina never updated its law.

Although the rule was rarely, if ever, enforced, it created headaches for arcade owners and businesses that worried about accidentally violating state law.

The legislation to repeal the ban had been introduced several times over the past decade before finally passing almost unanimously this year.

For arcade owners, the change is more than symbolic. Many say their biggest customers are families, birthday parties, and kids discovering pinball for the first time. They hope the updated law will help keep the classic arcade game alive for future generations.

After nearly seven decades, South Carolina kids can officially flip, bump, and chase high scores without breaking the law.