South Carolina Online Sports Betting

South Carolina is one of the most restrictive gambling states. No casinos, whether they are commercial or tribal exist within the borders of South Carolina.Thankfully, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and cruise casinos are a shining light for South Carolina’s players, and fully available for legal competition play.

Horse racing betting and even off-track wagering at OTBs have long been touted, and in sports betting, a form of parlay card betting system based on Oregon’s former ‘Sport Action’ was debated. All efforts including the latest attempt in January 2019 (SJR 57) have died in legislative committees after just one reading. No other attempts have been made to introduce legislation since that failure in 2019, so something in the style of a NJ online sportsbook still remains a fantasy in South Carolina for the time being.

It’s worth mentioning that South Carolina is home to staunch anti-gambling campaigner, Senator Lindsey Graham. In 2014, Graham unsuccessfully introduced legislation to ban all forms of online gambling at the federal level and reverse the decision that declared the Wire Act only applies to online sports betting.

South Carolina offers gamblers legal DFS competitions, a popular state lottery and charitable gambling only.

South Carolina applies a 7% state tax on all gambling winnings, which come predominantly from the state lottery.

Gambling wins over a $600 amount in the state of South Carolina may possibly attract an additional Federal Tax.

We recommend contacting your tax attorney to assess your potential Federal tax liability if you have a big win in South Carolina.

South Carolina applies an age limit of 18 across on the state lottery, charitable gaming and DFS. Those wishing to gamble on South Carolina’s cruise casinos that sail to international waters need to be at least 21-years-of-age.

Developments at the federal level usually set the agenda for South Carolina’s laws, but in the case of sports betting that has not been the case. South Carolina’s state legislators have barely examined the possibility of introducing legal sports betting after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to pass sports betting laws back to the states in May 2018.

The state did try to introduce a gambling expansion bill in 2017 that would have legalized physical casinos complete with sports betting options and horse racing betting in South Carolina. However, that bill didn’t make it out of a first reading in committee. It was introduced again in 2019, again failing in committee, and even a bill that simply would have created a commission to study the topic was given just one reading before being killed. 

This is in stark contrast to a 2017 poll of South Carolinians that resulted in a 68% majority favoring expanding gambling. For the time being, however, South Carolina’s residents-and-visitors can enjoy playing DFS real money competitions to fulfil their sports gaming wants and needs.

The short answer is sports betting is not legal in South Carolina and there is no desire to change that anytime soon at the legislative level. The last two times the state legislature tried to introduce bills to expand gambling, neither bill made it out of the committee.

Online sports betting, like most forms of gambling in South Carolina, is expressly prohibited under the law. In South Carolina, it’s not a simple matter of gambling online needing to be regulated and licensed and the appropriate level of sports betting taxes being negotiated. To the contrary, state law defines the act of illegal gambling to include internet gambling.

South Carolina Law Part 16-19-40 Section g showsthe law finds a person is guilty of illegal gambling based on the following:

“If any person shall play at a place of gaming or open place at (a) any game with cards or dice, (b) any gaming table, (c) any roly-poly table, (d) rouge et noir, (e) any faro bank, (f) any other table or bank of the same or the like kind under any denomination whatsoever, or (g) any machine or device licensed pursuant to Section 12-21-2720 and used for gambling purposes …”

The fine for the first offense is 30 days’ imprisonment and/or a fine to a maximum of $100. A second offense is a serious felony. Being convicted of illegal gambling a second time can result in a 12-month sentence and a fine up to a maximum of $2,000.

Naturally, before any online gambling can be introduced to South Carolina, the state’s lawmakers will be required to change the harsh laws.

Until new state laws are introduced, insofar as online gaming options go, we recommend sticking to simply playing DFS competitions for real money in South Carolina.

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) have been ruled at the federal level to be contests of skill and accordingly, they are exempt from all federal gambling regulation. State governments across the nation have taken up the spirit of the Federal ruling and many have legalized DFS under their own respective state laws.

One of the few positives in South Carolina’s gaming laws is that they do not restrict real money DFS competitions. DFS sites have established that South Carolina law does not restrict them from offering their real money competitions to residents and visitors to the Palmetto State.

Strange as it may seem, South Carolina has never addressed the legality of DFS competitions one way or another. South Carolina is a restrictive gambling state, however, the major DFS sites have been operating in the state legally for a number of years without any impediments from the authorities. The general sense in South Carolina seems to indicate a lack of burning desire to address the issue.

South Carolina’s lawmakers did attempt to introduce DFS legislation in 2016 with bill S 1093, but that effort was ultimately defeated.

Meanwhile, DFS competitions are played legally in South Carolina without obstacle.

It might seem some time away for now, however, once legal sports betting is finally introduced for South Carolina’s citizens, the practice should transform betting options for the new millennium in the Palmetto State.

Once sports betting becomes reality in South Carolina, players will potentially be winning exciting eSports wagers through betting markets never before imagined and more importantly for the state’s fervent anti-gambling campaigners, in ways that are untouched by a cloudy illegal past.

What are eSports?

Anyone old enough to have attended an all-night LAN party back in the embryonic stages of video gaming in the earliest days of the 21st century, will attest that ever since the first days of video gaming, the game’s players have always been trying to beat their colleagues.

Advancing to the present day and professional video game play at the highest levels, (i.e. eSports) is now home to an enormous betting industry on the outcomes of the all the big global tournaments.

Professional eSports ‘athletes’ compete in games like Rocket League, CS:GO, League of Legends and Starcraft II across a global network of tournaments. The eSports industry shows little signs of slowing down any time soon as it continues grow at an exponential rate. The worldwide eSports market is expected to cross (The $1 billion threshold is expected to be reached in late 2018 / early 2019).

Sportsbooks are never far away whenever there is such massive financial reward on offer and the range of betting markets now available even surpass those of traditional sports.

As the time comes for sports betting to roll out in South Carolina, expect to see legal eSports betting as one of the first legal and available ways to place a sports betting wager in the Palmetto State.

Non-betting horse racing is allowed at one racetrack only in South Carolina, specifically for the Carolina Cup and the Carolina Steeplechase.

Trackside Betting

The one track is used for non-betting horse races only.

Off Track Betting (OTB) in South Carolina

South Carolina does not offer OTB facilities for its residents and visitors.

Online Horse Racing in South Carolina

Online horse racing betting sites are unavailable for use in South Carolina.

For more information on South Carolina’s Online Gambling Laws Click Here