South Carolina Should Pass Sports Betting Bill

South Carolina lawmakers will again consider a bill that would allow online sports betting statewide. Senate Bill 444, first introduced in 2025, would boost consumer choice in one of the few states that still forbids wagering on sports.

The South Carolina Senate Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee will hear the issue on Wednesday, February 18.

In a state with no land-based casinos, the legislation would let up to eight operators allow sports betting through online apps and websites. Only those operators who already run such operations in five other states would be considered for licenses. Deadspin pointed out that this measure strongly favors established national brands such as FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet MGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Fanatics Sportsbook and Bet365. Operators would have to pay a $100,000 application and $1 million licensing fee, with licenses issued for periods of five years.

SB 444, co-sponsored by Republican state senators Tom Davis and Matthew W. Leber, would assess a tax of 12.5 percent of adjusted revenue (about average compared to other states), allowing operators to offset that figure through promotional discounts. Most of the revenue would be placed into the general state fund, with smaller amounts allocated toward other governmental programs. That includes an earmark for gambling addiction treatment programs, as most sports betting laws have done.

The legislation would be one of the more nonrestrictive sports betting laws in the U.S., allowing a minimum betting age of 18 and wagers on collegiate athletics.

The bill would also create the South Carolina Sports Wagering Commission to oversee sports betting in the state. The commission would oversee licensing, compliance, and enforcement.

South Carolina, home to about 5 million residents, is one of just 11 states that still prohibits sports betting after the U.S. Supreme Court opened legalization across the country by overturning the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018.

Lawmakers in states like South Carolina have resisted legalizing sports betting due to concerns about gambling addiction, but states with legal wagers haven’t seen much of an increase in problem gambling. Guy Bentley with the Reason Foundation found that problem gambling rates in New Jersey dropped from 6.3 percent in 2017 to 5.6 percent in 2021, after sports betting was legalized. This decrease likely resulted in part from a portion of tax revenues from the sports betting bill in that state being used to combat gambling addiction.

In addition, making it difficult for South Carolina residents to bet on sports only drives them toward black markets such as offshore sports books where they receive no consumer protection, or to North Carolina, a bordering state that offers legal online wagers and reaps the tax benefits.

The American Gaming Association estimates that illegal and unregulated gambling market generates an estimated $53.9 billion in annual revenue for offshore betting rings and unregulated machine operators, robbing state governments of $15.3 billion in taxes each year. 

Prediction markets have experienced a rise in recent years, particularly in states with no legal sports betting. These markets allow users to buy contracts by choosing “yes” or “no” on everything from which team will win a game to the future price of the stock exchange. Critics argue these prediction markets skirt state law, with many jurisdictions suing the owners of these apps.

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance has reported that gambling addiction is not nearly as prevalent as many critics claim. Studies have found that the average monthly outlay for two-thirds of sports bettors is less than $100, with only 10 percent risking more than $500 per month. NerdWallet found that the median sports bettor wagers just $750 per year, or an average of just more than $60 per month.

South Carolina legislators should pass SB44. Their state’s residents already bet on sports, just either in an unregulated and unprotected environment or by crossing state lines. Legal sports betting in the Palmetto State would keep tax revenues at home while better protecting consumers.