House and Senate sports betting bills are on South Carolina’s legislative table. If approved, they would bring a historically reluctant state into the digital age of gaming.
Oversight Commission
Should Senator Thomas Davis have his way and his sports betting bill, Senate Bill 444, passes during this legislative session, it would also trigger the establishment of the South Carolina Sports Wagering Commission (SCSWC), which would act as the industry’s governing body.
The SCSWC would consist of a nine-member panel appointed by the governor, Senate president, and House speaker. The commission would be tasked with enforcing the rules outlined in the bill while also collecting fees and managing operational expenses.
SB 444 allows up to eight sportsbooks that would be charged $100,000 for an application and then an additional $1 million should they be awarded the standard five-year license. Only sportsbooks currently active in at least five markets would be eligible, and each would have to have letters of reference from their respective regulatory agencies.
The measure is a traditional sports betting bill, as it has no provisions for daily fantasy sports. However, it does specify a 12.5% tax rate on adjusted gross revenues, of which 82% of the proceeds would be earmarked for the state’s General Fund.
Is the Tide Turning?
Although previous attempts have been made to get sports betting legalized in South Carolina, none have had any success. However, the tide could be turning as revenues soar in states that have passed sports betting and even iGaming bills.
“From what I can tell, there is widespread support for sports gaming for a number of different reasons,” said Republican Representative Chris Murphy, who has also co-sponsored HB 3625, the South Carolina Sports Wagering Act, with Republican Representative Heath Sessions and Democrat Representative J. Todd Rutherford.
“One is going on right now, where tons of money is going offshore. Two, people in South Carolina are trying to bet, but they’re being geofenced out, and they’re making the trip to North Carolina to bet there instead,” Murphy added.
According to GeoComply, a geolocation company used by many sportsbooks to keep bettors from wagering in restricted markets, 366,000 sportsbook account holders in South Carolina attempted to access legal sports betting sites during the 2024 NFL season. But because they were attempting to do so from South Carolina, where sports betting has not been approved, their efforts were prohibited.
According to a December 2022 Benchmark Research poll commissioned by the gaming industry, nearly three-quarters of South Carolinians surveyed said they approve of sports betting for adults in the Palmetto State.
Moreover, according to the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, the state would reap between $13.6 million and $31.3 million in the first year of mobile and retail sports betting based on the 12.5% tax on adjusted gross revenues.
“Quite honestly, if we are already creating new programs that will suck up portions of the budget, we should look at supplanting revenue loss before we move onto something else,” said Representative Rutherford, a Columbia Democrat, and a sponsor of both sports betting bills in the House.
However, there are still plenty of anti-gambling forces in conservative South Carolina, which may be a hurdle too high to climb to get any sports betting legislation passed, at least during this year’s legislative session.
