In the last handful of years, legal sports betting has swept the nation. Thanks to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, state legislators are now able to legalize sports betting to the extent that they wish. To date, more than 30 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting with usalegalbetting begin a great resource for keeping up with the ever-growing list of states that have made sports betting legal. Unfortunately for the people of South Carolina, the Palmetto State has yet to join that list.
On the bright side, there have been overtures made in South Carolina to bring legal sports betting to that state. In 2022, goupstate reported that Gubernatorial candidate Jim Cunningham publicly supported sports betting becoming legal in South Carolina. Cunningham claimed that there is “underground, unregulated” betting already taking place in South Carolina that brings in no tax revenue for the state. He argued that if it were legalized and regulated, tax revenue from legal betting could help South Carolina.
Cunningham also said South Carolinians should have the same freedom that people in 30 other states enjoy. Neighboring North Carolina passed a bill in 2019 that legalized sports betting in tribal casinos. While mobile betting has not been approved in the Tar Heel State, Governor Roy Cooper has spoken favorably about it. With South Carolinians able to drive across the state border to casinos in North Carolina to bet legally, there is even more pressure on the Palmetto State to legalize sports betting.
Of course, Cunningham's bid to become Governor of South Carolina in 2022 failed. However, that same year, Todd Rutherford, the minority leader of the South Carolina House of Representatives, made a push to bring legal betting to South Carolina. Bill 3395 aimed to legalize betting on professional sports, horse racing, and casino activities. Rutherford's bill estimates that legalized betting would bring in an estimated $40 million in tax revenue to South Carolina per year. According to the bill, that money would be put toward “highway, road, and bridge maintenance, construction, and repair.”
Despite Rutherford's bid failing to gain enough traction in 2022, there is hope that future efforts to legalize sports betting in South Carolina will be more successful. Even with Democrats like Cunningham and Rutherford leading the charge, the issue is starting to receive more bipartisan support despite the South Carolina House of Representatives being controlled by a 70% Republican majority. However, Governor Henry McMaster has spoken out against sports betting in the past, creating another obstacle for legal sports betting in the Palmetto State.
While there have been past failures and continued opposition from the Governor, it's impossible to deny that support is slowly growing for sports betting in South Carolina. The 30 states where it's legal have shown that it can be a great way for states to generate tax revenue that can be used to fund helpful projects. That obvious benefit of legal sports betting is becoming hard to deny. However, South Carolina has long been one of the more conservative states when it comes to gambling. In all likelihood, South Carolina is likely to eventually adopt legal sports betting in some form. But it may not legalize mobile betting and it could take a few more years to clear all of the hurdles that stand in the way of South Carolina having legal sports betting.
