TIFTON — Five stores in Tifton were among a dozen South Georgia sites raided by authorities for violation of state gaming laws, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation statement.

Search warrants were served at 12 South Georgia stores, with five in Tifton and at stores in Ashburn, Sycamore and Sylvester.

Agents found businesses running coin-operated machines where customers were receiving cash payouts, the GBI said. In Georgia, these machines must be licensed by the Georgia Lottery and can only pay out lottery tickets and store merchandise.

Government agencies involved in the raids included the GBI’s Commercial Gambling Unit, the Tift County Sheriff’s Office, the Ashburn Police Department, the Sycamore Police Department, the Turner County Sheriff’s Office, the Worth County Sheriff’s Office, the Tifton Judicial Circuit and the Georgia Lottery Corporation.