A bipartisan bill in the SC House of Representatives would legalize sports betting.
A bipartisan bill in the SC House of Representatives would legalize sports betting.
A bipartisan bill in the SC House of Representatives would legalize sports betting.
As March Madness and the MLB season get underway, local sports fans are hoping South Carolina can legalize sports betting in the state.
Andy Casado says the excitement of betting is something he and his friends love experiencing and spending money on.
“Just us guys, you know how we are. We’ll be like, ‘hey over/under on this’ or ‘hey over/under on how many times he can make this?” he says.
However, it’s not an activity he can enjoy where he lives, in South Carolina.
“I go up to like North Carolina all the time to Cherokee etc, and then every time I’m in Florida, see family, [I put] a little parlay bet in,” he explains.
According to Representative Todd Rutherford – (D) Richland, South Carolina is long overdue for legalizing online sports betting.
“We can continue to stick our heads in the sand and act like people are not going to bet, but they are. They’re doing it right now. South Carolina ought to be able to take advantage of that,” he says.
It’s the motivation behind his proposed ‘Interactive Sports Wagering Bill’, which would allow sports gambling.
According to data from the North Carolina Lottery Commission, the state saw $78 million in sports gambling tax revenue in 2024, after legalizing sports betting.
“We’ve got a myriad of problems in south carolina that have to do with education, that have to do with health care, that have to do with have to do with economic development. And when you’re bringing in tens of millions of dollars by taxing something that people are already doing, I can’t think of a better way to bring money into our general fund,” Rutherford says.
The fiscal benefits don’t outweigh the potential harm for some. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, one study found 16% of polled online sports gamblers met clinical criteria for gambling disorder.
“I think they targeted, young men, especially when they’re college age, they give them a hook, they let them win a little bit, and they’re already into sports and chatting about sports and watching it all the time, and it hooks them in and then, unfortunately, some of them can’t get out of it,” says Kathy Witkowski.
Rutherford says protections would be put in place for those who decide to gamble.
“We are going to have to offer addiction programs for gambling, just like we do for drugs, just like we do for alcohol. The fact that somebody can come back and become addicted to alcohol does not mean we shut down all the bars,” he says.
The bill has received bipartisan support from members of the House, as it sits in the Ways and Means Committee.
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