The South Carolina House of Representatives heard nearly two hours of testimony on Tuesday from multiple parties concerning three gaming bills offered during this legislative session.
The House Ways and Means Committee’s Revenue Policy Subcommittee listened to arguments for and against a bill that would legalize sports betting, another that would bring land-based casinos to the state, and legislation on skill-based competitions.
The committee took no votes on Tuesday, but subcommittee Chair and Rep. Bruce Bannister said the legislative group will review a stack of amendments that have been offered up and see how they would positively or negatively affect the bills before moving forward.
“If we’re going to do anything, we’ll reconvene and take action on the bills and amendments at that time,” Bannister said.
Sports Wagering Act
The only legal form of gambling in the Palmetto State is the education lottery. H3625, introduced to the House in January, is one of the legislative efforts looking to change that in 2025.
The South Carolina Sports Wagering Act would legalize sports betting, create a regulatory commission and operating licenses, and provide a privilege tax.
Rep. John McCravy, who is not on the committee but was allowed to speak on the three bills, said H3625 has issues and ambiguities with the way that it’s currently written.
McCravy added that he is not in favor of it passing, but if it did, the bill “would need a lot of work to avoid unattended consequences.” Multiple religious organizations also spoke against legalizing sports betting on Tuesday.
Gov. Henry McMaster has previously indicated that he would not sign any new gambling bills into law during his time in office.
In favor of sports betting
The Sports Betting Alliance, a coalition made up of FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Fanatics Sportsbook, had a representative “urge the committee” to pass the sports wagering bill.
“People here in South Carolina are already betting on sports,” SBA’s Michelle McGregor said to the committee.
“I’m not just talking about the office March Madness pool, but the hundreds and thousands of people who are placing wagers on illegal, offshore websites or with their local bookie. The American Gaming Association estimates that here in South Carolina, roughly $1 billion is wagered annually on these offshore sportsbooks that have no oversight or consumer protections and certainly do not generate tax revenue for the state.”
The SBA estimates that sports betting would bring $60 million annually in new tax revenue to the Palmetto State. The coalition representative also said a geolocation company tracked 5.4 million attempts to access regulated sportsbooks during the NFL season, and many S.C. residents traveled across the border to partake in North Carolina sports betting.
Benchmark Research’s public opinion survey found that 70% of South Carolinians support legal sports betting, according to McGregor.
Representatives from the Coalition for Fantasy Sports and popular operator PrizePicks both advocated for including DFS regulatory framework in the sports betting bill. Several DFS companies currently offer games in South Carolina.
Other legislation
H4176 would allow the Palmetto State to form a commission that could award licenses to casino operators in certain counties. Several people from Orangeburg County spoke in favor of developing a casino in the area to positively impact the economy and provide educational funding. There were a couple of dissenting opinions on allowing in-person casinos as well.
H4129 wants to amend the state’s code of laws to allow a person who wins a prize in a game “in which skill predominates over chance” to not be classified as gambling. This bill contained language that would likely need clarification and amendments as it pertained to a variety of skill competitions.
