Legal Status
Sports betting is not legal in the state of South Carolina.
Legislative Progress
South Carolina legislators tried to get sports betting legalized prior to the Supreme Court overturning PAPSA by passing the HB 3102 bill. The bill would have altered the state constitution allowing the legislature to legalize sports betting, pari-mutuel horse racing betting, and casino gambling. However, the bill failed to gain much support and died out quickly.
Another attempt was made in 2018 with a resolution (S 57), that would have done just what HB 3102 was designed to accomplish. Much like HB 3102, it struggled to find support and died in committee in January 2019.
Both the House and Senate tried to pass a resolution in 2020. But like the other attempts, House Joint Resolution 3395 and Senate Joint Resolution 98 failed to garner much support and died quickly. Like the others, they would have amended the state constitution allowing the legislature to legalize sports betting.
Since then, no serious efforts have been made.
Casino Participation
There are two riverboat casinos that dock in South Carolina and head out to international waters so people can legally enjoy casino games. So, it is safe to say that casinos have not gotten involved in any efforts, nor will they likely be in the future.
Role of the Lottery
South Carolina does have a state lottery, but there is no reason to believe it will be involved in future sports betting in the state.
Professional Sports Team Involvement
There are no NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, or MLS teams in South Carolina, however, there are several big NASCAR races held at the Darlington Raceway every year. If sports betting were ever to get legalized, Darlington might be in line for a license, although officials are not lobbying for one or pushing for sports betting to get legalized.
Licensing
With no serious efforts to legalize sports betting, there have been no substantive discussions related to licensing, fees, or taxes.
Expected Live Date
South Carolina does not appear to be interested in legalizing sports betting. With legalization efforts usually spear-headed by Democrats, sports betting will probably not see the light of day in South Carolina until the Republicans want it to.
Until there appears to be some significant progress made, there is no sense in even speculating on when sports betting could go live in South Carolina.
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