Charleston is a place that knows how to have a good time. From King Street’s buzzing bars to rooftop cocktail lounges, those who visit Holy City are guaranteed to have a memorable time in South Carolina’s most populous city.
The one thing people in Holy City can’t do, is walk into a casino and place a wager or search for the best new casino websites on their phones. That’s because South Carolina has some of the strictest gambling laws in the United States.
Not only is it illegal to gamble online, but it’s also against the law to operate land-based casinos and accept sports wagers – both digitally and in person. To steal a quote from fictional mathematician Dr Ian Malcolm – and perhaps butcher it – gambling finds a way.
The people of Charleston have found ways to get their roulette, poker and blackjack thrills from new casino websites that don’t break the state’s strict gambling laws. To find out more about this development, read on…
Social Casinos
Also known as sweepstakes in other states, social casinos offer members all the usual casino games such as blackjack, baccarat and roulette, but they have one key difference with traditional online casinos that makes them legal in South Carolina – money.
Players make wagers on social casino websites with virtual money, not with dollars or any other recognised foreign currency. Wagers in crypto aren’t even accepted. Rewards, or winnings, come as redeemable prizes or entry into sweepstake competitions.
Social casinos therefore, do not allow players to deposit money with them to gamble and do not reward them financially for wagering their own money. Which is why they are perfectly legal and can operate in South Carolina.
How do Players Get Coins
They give them out for free. If you sign up with a social casino you will be given some sort of virtual currency bonus. Then every day a certain amount of coins will be deposited into your account, and you can of course win coins when you play.
There are other ways too. If you write to a social casino and request coins to be deposited into your account, many will oblige. Various third-party companies also run offers and promotions that reward their customers with social casino currency.
At no stage then, does money change hands. Virtual coins simply cannot be bought.
Why is it all Free?
The best way to think of social casinos is to draw a comparison with free-to-play mobile games from the 2010s. The Simpsons: Tapped Out launched in 2012 and soon became one of the most played mobile games on the planet.
It was free to download and free to play, yet by the end of 2014 the game had generated over $130 million in revenues. Some of that came from advertising, but the majority of it came through in-app purchases of ‘donuts’, which players would buy to give them an advantage in the game.
Likewise, social casinos offer players a whole host of in-app purchases which are sold as quality of life style upgrades. This is how they manage to remain profitable despite not charging players to sue their online gambling facilities.
How Social Casinos are Impacting Charleston’s Nightlife Scene
Like most everything, there are pros and cons when it comes to social casinos and Charleston nightlife. The main concern amongst business owners in the city is that they are missing out to social casinos.
They fear that too many people are staying home and spinning the virtual reels than visiting their bar, restaurant or theatre. In reality though, this is a trifling concern.
The number of people playing social casinos is relatively low and evidence suggest that most play these games very casually, meaning its highly unlikely that people are giving up nights out in favour of staying at home to play casino games.
The benefit of social casinos though is somewhat more tangible. People who once left the state to get their gambling fix are now staying at home instead, which leaves them with more time and money to spend in Charleston.
In addition to this, many of the prizes and rewards offered by social casinos are vouchers and coupons which can be used at local businesses.
Whilst the economic benefits of this aren’t felt as significantly as, say, the building of a multi-million dollar casino that would draw in tourists from all over the world, it is still having a beneficial impact on Charleston and South Carolina’s local economy. Ultimately, that cause for celebration.