Rumblings begin anew for legal wagering in South Carolina
South Carolina is the opposite of a gambling mecca. The deep red southern state has no land-based casinos, no horse racing and it has some of the strictest gambling laws in the US. Despite those issues, at least one person who studies gambling expects a push toward wagering legalisation in 2025.
“The success in terms of the tax revenue generated already in North Carolina will be enticing,” Stephen Shapiro of the University of South Carolina Department of Sport and Entertainment Management told Statehouse Report earlier this month. “I would imagine that we’re going to see more of those types of [sports betting] bills and that there’s a good chance it would be legalised in the next couple years.”
South Carolina is among the last group of US states to consider legal wagering. To date, there has not been a serious push for it. During the 2024 legislative session, a 2023 wagering bill continued to languish. A key stumbling block is Governor Henry McMaster’s opposition. McMaster has been in office since 2017 and the next chance to replace him is in 2026.
“The governor has always opposed legalised sports betting and campaigned against it during the 2022 gubernatorial election,” Brandon Charochak, a McMaster spokesperson, told Statehouse Report earlier this month. “His position remains unchanged.”
2023 bill would have allowed for digital betting only
In 2023, lawmakers dropped a bill that would have allowed for statewide digital sports betting with a 10% tax rate. The bill would have allowed to some licensees to be tethered to the state’s PGA Tour stops and Darlington Raceway. There would also have been some stand-alone licences available.
Like in Tennessee and Vermont, had the bill passed, South Carolina would have had mobile wagering only. The bill passed out of the house ways and means revenue policy subcommittee in 2023, but didn’t move in 2024.
As South Carolina lawmakers continue to mull legal wagering, operators are in full swing with digital and retail wagering in North Carolina. That state launched operators in March. Through July, operators had taken $2.6bn in bets and paid the state $57m in taxes.