Sports betting legislation has been filed in the past, but South Carolina has refused to budge in joining the 38 US states that currently offer some form of sports betting. However, a new bipartisan bill could turn the tables and bring up to eight licensed mobile sportsbooks to the Palmetto State.
Let’s Try This Again
The South Carolina legislature does not convene until January 14th, but that hasn’t stopped a triumvirate of lawmakers from prefiling a sports betting bill to get a jump start on the new session. Representative Chris Murphy (R) filed House Bill 3625 earlier this week on behalf of its bipartisan sponsors, Representative Heath Sessions (R) and Representative J. Todd Rutherford (D).
The bill is known as the “South Carolina Sports Wagering Act,” and it would amend the state’s constitution to allow sports betting. It has been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, but should it advance, it will be interesting to see if something like sports betting that has become so mainstream will be met with as much resistance as in 2023, the last time an effort was made to bring sports betting to South Carolinians.
A Revenue-Generating Opportunity
“It’s one of those bills that is a revenue generator for the state, a very significant source of revenue,” says Dorchester Republican representative Chris Murphy.
The bill would call for eight licenses to be awarded to digital sports betting platforms that are active in at least five states and would require a $100,000 application fee and a $1 million license fee. Mobile sportsbooks would be taxed at a rate of 12.5% on their adjusted gross revenues.
Jealous Neighbors
Much like other states that have recently passed sports betting legislation, South Carolina is seeing neighboring states like North Carolina reaping the benefits of sports betting, with some of that revenue emanating from their southern neighbors.
This has been a standard reflex from bettors living in a non-sports betting state to cross state lines to make a wager in an adjoining state that has adopted sports betting. It is usually not long before legislators begin to understand that betting is happening underneath their noses but their state is not enjoying any of the profits. Others point out that betting with offshore sportsbooks is also taking place.
“The fact of the matter is, it’s taking place right now illegally,” Murphy says.
Potential Revenue
Murphy believes the sports industry would generate tens of millions for South Carolina, with 80% of that money going into a general fund.
“It’s interesting to note that when North Carolina’s legislation went live, there were over a million bets attempted to be placed in South Carolina on the North Carolina apps. So, it just shows you that there that it is happening,” Murphy said.
Representative Murphy has also pointed out that daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators would like to be included in a regulated South Carolina gaming market.
“They came to me and wanted to be included in the legislation that I’ve been proposing because they want to be regulated and they want to keep the bad actors out,” Murphy said.
