As we’ve covered so far, South Carolina is tough on gambling. This is seen throughout their entire history, which starts with banning all forms of gaming in 1802. The Palmetto State allowed video poker machines throughout the 1990s, but they decided to ban all of these games in 2000. The gambling laws in South Carolina identify three legal avenues, namely bingo, raffles, and the lottery. South Carolina online sports betting isn’t specifically banned by any law, but it still fits the state’s legal definition of gambling. Thus, it is effectively illegal. But generally, South Carolina is an anti-gaming state. You won’t find casinos, sports betting, or legal private gambling in the state at all. South Carolina’s criminal code contains numerous laws that prohibit games, and little outlining games that are allowed.

• Casino Gambling: Not Legal
• Poker: Not Legal
• Horse Racing Betting: Legal
• Dog Racing Betting: Not Legal
• Lottery: Legal
• Daily Fantasy Sports: Not Specified
• Charitable Gaming: Legal
• Social Gambling: Not Legal
• Online Gambling: Not Specified

South Carolina gambling law is restrictive compared to other states in America. No casinos, tribal or commercial, exist within state lines. Charitable games are heavily-restricted, and social gambling is implicitly illegal in all cases.

The Palmetto State recently added provisions to allow a couple of businesses to launch casino cruises from South Carolina cities, but these businesses are restricted in terms of what games they can offer and what range of wagers they can accept. The South Carolina Education Lottery is popular – since its launch in 2002, the lottery has provided the state with more than $3.5 billion in revenue.

There’s talk of changing gambling law in the state to allow for pari-mutuel wagering, OTB bets, and even a parlay card betting system run by the SC lottery. These ideas are in their early stages, with early efforts dying in legislative committees. When a politically-conservative state with a history of gambling bans starts to consider new regulated markets, it’s worth mentioning.

Below is a breakdown of what we’ve learned about the legal status of gambling in South Carolina. We’ve also thrown in a few links to give people other insight into the state’s gaming laws.

South Carolina is one of the worst states in America if you’re a gambler. The state’s lone casino gambling operation is a gambling cruise that doesn’t depart very often and charges hefty fees thanks to state regulation. Yes, the lottery is a popular way to gamble in the state, but South Carolina was one of the last states to offer it, and the state has still not accepted any of the new forms of lottery play, such as online ticket sales, football parlays, and other games. With that in mind, let’s look at some important facts and figures related to South Carolina’s gambling industry.

Below is our analysis of the legality of gambling in South Carolina. The information presented here is for educational purposes only. We aren’t lawyers. We are gamblers who are interested enough in gaming law to research the topic extensively. We’ve read every South Carolina law related to gaming and we’ve tried to condense that knowledge into something digestible.

It is unusual to describe a gambling situation as tragic. Some states, like Utah, have never been fans of games of chance at all. Other states have gradually introduced elements of gaming and have steadily increased their participation or held relatively steady. South Carolina, on the other hand, may be the only state in the US to have dipped its toes in the water, then run screaming in the opposite direction.

Sweepstakes casinos in South Carolina

Social casino options

Gambling Laws In South Carolina

The typical operators of social casinos are available in South Carolina. In fact, Big M Casino, the cruise casino operator from Little River offers its own link to Double Down Casino – the largest of the social casinos. Otherwise, Slotomania, BigFish, ZyngaPoker, and all the usual options are available in South Carolina.

However, given the strict and prohibitive nature of South Carolina’s current gambling laws, it is advisable to proceed with caution on any site that has real-world promotions, such as MyVegas. Because any gambling or even mere ownership of gambling devices is illegal, it would be an unfortunate situation to face fines, confiscation, jail time, or a combination of the three simply because a player tried to redeem some loyalty points.

Online gambling

South Carolina’s gambling laws are some of the strictest in the nation. Rarely are statutes written with so little ambiguity. The laws are more analogous to drug laws than the ones typically seen in gambling regulations. In fact, the laws are so stringent on any type of gambling that it doesn’t even make sense to speak about the notion of an online casino in South Carolina.

State casino operator history

It used to be quite a sight. South Carolina had tens of thousands of video lottery terminals – which were de factovideo poker machines. In October 1999, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the machines were unconstitutional. They were requires to be shut down by June 2000, which they were.

At that point, a large portion of public opinion had turned against the machines. In no small part because of a particularly brutal story of a baby suffocating while its mother played video poker. Unfortunately, South Carolinians blamed the presence of the machines for this tragedy. As such, the multi-billion-dollar industry vanished in the summer of 2000.

This reversal is unique. Most states either introduce gambling slowly and increase offerings steadily over decades, or they introduce minimal gambling, like lotteries and racetracks, and stand pat. For a state to withdraw to an anti-gambling position is quite remarkable. For a state to reverse into one of the most restrictive situations in the country is even odder.

And yet, that is the situation in South Carolina. The gambling statutes for the Palmetto State are among the most restrictive in the US. It is illegal to have casino gambling, so there are no casinos within state lines. There are also no horsetracks, dogtracks, pari-mutuel facilities, or offtrack betting options to be found. Furthermore, it’s unlawful to even own gambling devices or tables, even if they are not being used in any way for promotion of gambling. Their mere possession constitutes an illegal act.

Legal gaming options

The only exceptions are strictly controlled social games (home poker games, mahjong, bridge, etc.), the state lottery, and charitable bingo games. The only other option for South Carolinians to gamble is to take one of two casino cruises. These depart from Little River (near Myrtle Beach) and are both operated by The Big “M” Casino company.

Out-of-state options

South Carolina Gambling Laws

Otherwise, the only options for residents of the Palmetto State are three-to-four hours of driving away. The two Harrah’s Cherokee properties in Western North Carolina offer the nearest glimmers of possibility. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is the closer of the two – accessible from Columbia in just over three hours.

There is a bit of hope on the horizon. As is often the case, South Carolina has run into budget problems in the last few years. Specifically, the state of South Carolina’s roads has become a dangerous proposition. They are in need of an infusion of money and repair. Public opinion has swayed toward casinos as an option for addressing this need.

Possible changes ahead

Efforts are already underway. Rep. Todd Rutherford introduced H 3102 late last year. The bill, a joint resolution, proposes an amendment to South Carolina’s state constitution that would provide for the General Assembly to specify certain areas of the state for the development of full Las Vegas-style casinos. The bill is quite broad and would even allow the introduction of pari-mutuel betting and sports betting on professional sports.

So far, the bill is still with the judiciary committee, and no updates to its status have occurred since January – not a good sign. Still, for a state with such stringent anti-gambling regulations, the fact that the bill is even under consideration highlights both the changing mindset of voters in the state and the level of desperation the government is feeling to fix the roads. However, the path to legalization is long and would require a voter referendum to approve it, even if the bill makes it past the legislative body.

South Carolina is one of the toughest spots for gamblers. Not only are in-state options limited, but also out-of-state options are scarce. The state’s most prominent neighbor, Georgia, has no casinos, either. Still, times are changing, the old guard is moving on, and one can never tell what may happen … even in South Carolina. Below is a list of the nearest options for South Carolinians, limited and inconvenient though they may be.

Nearest casino or gambling options

State legal environment

Is Internet Gambling Legal In South Carolina