As a state is strongly opposed to gambling of any kind as a matter of policy, legal South Carolina sports betting is possible but on a limited basis. The Palmetto State was admitted to the Union in 1788 and almost immediately thereafter banned nearly every form of gambling, whether that was cards, dice, horse racing, and even lotteries, up.
- Lottery (2001)
- About $400 million per year
- About $1.4 billion per year
- 18
- South Carolina does not have a smoking ban
- None
- From the time South Carolina joined the union in 1788, they moved quickly to outlaw all forms of gambling. If gamblers wish to find an outlet to make a wager, they can travel to Myrtle Beach where two casino cruises have been allowed to operate since 2008 by taking gamblers into international waters.
- No, sports betting in South Carolina is not legal at this time. Sports betting in South Carolina. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 was repealed by the Supreme Court in 2018, but the state of South Carolina hasn’t made a move to get into the business of gambling and sports wagering.
South Carolina casinos, as well as gambling, was once more popular than in Nevada. This occurred in the 1990s when video poker operators discovered a loophole in the South Carolina gambling laws.
Casinos opened up throughout the state. Gas stations, bars, and restaurants all hosted video poker games. These games were outlawed in 2000. A state lottery was created a year later. The only other forms of legal gambling are charity bingo and a casino cruise that docks near Myrtle Beach.
Paying Gambling Taxes in South Carolina
Did you know that your gambling income is taxable? OnlineUnitedStatesCasinos has gathered everything you need to know about paying taxes on your gambling winnings straight from a Certified Public Accountant. For more information please visit our exclusive Gambling Taxes article.
South Carolina Casinos Map & Guide
- Big M Casino
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Types of South Carolina Online Gambling Allowed
There are no forms of legalized online gambling in South Carolina. Daily fantasy sports sites accept players from South Carolina. These companies claim exemption under South Carolina’s skill game laws.
A spokesman for the South Carolina Attorney General’s office stated in November 2015 that there were no complaints by residents pertaining to daily fantasy sports sites. The South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson had no intention of investigating the industry, according to the spokesman.
Types of Live South Carolina Gambling
- Casino Games: Some
- Bingo: Yes
- Lottery: Yes
There are only two forms of live gambling permitted in South Carolina. The state lottery sells tickets to lotto drawings. It also sells scratch-off instant game tickets. There is only one South Carolina casino currently operating within the state, the Big M Casino. This South Carolina casino is able to operate due to the fact that it acts as a cruise casino. People are able to book a short trip on the cruise while they gamble at the casino games tables. This goes back to the gambling laws surrounding boats.
Bingo is permitted is offered by charitable organizations. Entries must be $3, $5 or $18. The prize pool must be announced before the night of the games and cannot be based on the amount of the prize pool. The Catawba Tribe is permitted to spread high stakes bingo games due to this law through its exemption under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Attempts by the tribe to expand into casino operations have failed.
South Carolina Gambling Laws
South Carolina forbids most forms of gambling. Slots, video poker machines, table games and racing are all illegal. The possession of gambling devices is only permitted on cruise ships docked in water or in transport en route to licensed casinos.
The only forms of legalized gambling in South Carolina are a state lottery and bingo. State law permits the operation of a lottery by the government. Proceeds must go towards education. Only traditional tickets to instant games and lottos may be sold. South Carolina’s lottery may enter multi-state drawings and it does. This includes Mega Millions and Powerball. The lottery may not operate keno games for real money or expand into video lottery.
The Bingo Act of 1976 permits charities to offer bingo with a few rules. A game may only have one winner. The prize for each game offered during a session must be equal. Auto-daubers were permitted in 2004 but only to facilitate a traditional bingo game. Video bingo games are explicitly prohibited.
A nonprofit organization must be active for three years in the state to receive a bingo license. It must be a charitable, religious or fraternal organization. Each licensed bingo site must pay $1,000 per year. Manufacturers pay $5,000 per year to place devices related to bingo. Promoters must pay $2,000 per year to operate in South Carolina. The first $948,000 per year in annual revenue generated from bingo licensing must go towards senior citizen services and parks. Any overage may enter the general fund.
List of South Carolina Casinos
The only places to gamble in South Carolina are convenience stores that sell lottery tickets, charities that offer bingo and the Catawba reservation near Rock Hill, which offers high stakes bingo.
The only South Carolina casinos are the Big M Casino and SunCruz Aquacasino, which are cruise casinos, dock in the Little River Inlet just north of Myrtle Beach. Players may enjoy video poker, slots, craps, roulette and table games that use cards on these ships. The cruises may not operate casino games until they have entered international waters.
History of South Carolina Gambling
Racing was the first form South Carolina gambling. Horses and greyhounds raced early last century. The conservative movement during the days after World War II put an end to this type of gambling.
The first form of legalized South Carolina gambling in the modern days was bingo. This occurred in 1976. Only charities may offer bingo although the Catawba Tribe also operates the games through its exemption under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The rules pertaining to buy-ins and prize pools do not apply to reservation bingo games.
Voters approved a state lottery through a constitutional referendum in 2001. The first lottery ticket was sold in January 2002. The only permitted games are lotto drawings and instant scratch-off tickets. These are sold at convenience stores but not over the Internet.
Video Poker Machine Boom and Decline
The most interesting part of South Carolina gambling history started in 1986. A state gambling law was quietly edited and attached to a must-pass budget bill. The language removed the words “or property” from an anti-gambling statute. This was meant to legalize arcade redemption games, although there was some question as to whether the intent was always to find a back door for video poker machines.
Gambling devices began appearing in convenience stores and bars. It was not long before casinos opened throughout the state. At one point there were 7,000 places to gamble, three times more than Nevada at the time. There were about 34,000 video poker machines in these establishments. It was not until 1989 that lawmakers realized what they had done three years prior. By that time, the video poker industry in South Carolina had exploded into a nine-figure industry in terms of annual revenues.
The first step towards controlling video poker was a law passed by the state legislature that limited daily winnings to $125. This law was skirted when video poker operators simply cashed out $125 per day until a larger jackpot was paid in full.
South Carolina video poker establishments were limited to five machines per location. Owners determined that a location was simply an address. The solution was to wall off multiple rooms and call it a separate business. Many casinos, as they were advertised, continued to stuff dozens of games into a building. Walls were constructed to separate them.
South Carolina outlawed the operation of video poker on Sundays. This was a law the operators actually obeyed.
Many of these South Carolina casinos were gaudy and considered eyesores in the community. The state lines with Georgia and North Carolina was littered with them.
South Carolina received no benefit from these machines in terms of taxes. There was no minimum age to play, although most video poker malls required patrons to be at least 19 years of age.
The video poker lobby even managed to defeat a popular governor, Republican David Beasley. Video poker operators backed Democrat Jim Hodges with millions in campaign funds. A historically Republican state saw a Democrat win its gubernatorial race thanks to the video poker’s campaign contributions.
The state had enough of this and in 1999, the state legislature decided to put an end to the industry. The South Carolina Legislature passed a bill, signed by Governor Hodges, which put the matter up for a statewide referendum. Voters would decide in a November 1999 referendum whether video poker should remain legal in South Carolina.
There was just one problem with this law. The South Carolina Constitution does not give its citizens a referendum right unless it is a constitutional amendment. The law stated that if South Carolinians did not affirm the legality of video poker, it would become illegal after June 30, 2000.
Some observers at the time wondered if this was intentional. The state legislature made it appear that it would allow the citizens to decide whether video poker should be legal in South Carolina. They never got the chance. The South Carolina Supreme Court deemed that its citizens could not vote on the measure because the state constitution did not permit such an action. Because of this ruling, video poker became illegal on July 1, 2000. The machines were moved to other states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and West Virginia, where the games still enjoyed a gray area status at the time.
South Carolina Casinos & Gambling FAQ
What forms of gambling are legal in South Carolina?
The only forms of legalized gambling in South Carolina are bingo and a state lottery.
It is widely believed daily fantasy sports are legal in South Carolina. State Attorney General Alan Wilson has yet to issue an official opinion on the topic.
Horse and greyhound racing are not legal in South Carolina.
No.
The only form of online gambling permitted in South Carolina at this time is daily fantasy sports.
Are online poker, casino games or sports betting legal in South Carolina?
All of these games are illegal in South Carolina. The sites that operate the games are unlicensed in the state.
Does the South Carolina Lottery sell tickets over the Internet?
Lottery tickets are not sold online in South Carolina.
Video poker was outlawed in 2000.
South Carolina is not a very friendly state when it comes to gambling and what it allows within its state lines.
In fact, the state lottery is really the only real form of gambling that is considered to be legal in the state of South Carolina.
It also doesn’t appear that there will be any moves toward legalizing online gambling soon, so players will need to continue enjoying themselves on the offshore poker sites and casinos.
Top Online Casinos in South Carolina
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Casinos in South Carolina
As part of our ongoing series of casino game playing guides we have recently compiled and updated our website with a large range of US State specific guides that are going to be showcasing to you all of the gambling opportunities that will be available to you in every single US State.
Therefore if you are about to take a well earned break to America and you are the type of person who cannot resist gambling when away from home then each of those casino guides are going to come in very handy!
This particular guide is going to be letting you know just what gambling opportunities are going to become available to you if you ever visit the US State of South Carolina and it is not only land based bricks and mortar casinos that we will be covering in this guide!
We will also be taking a look at just which types of online and mobile casino sites you can access if you are every in South Carolina and also we will be letting you know just what casino games should be the ones you are tracking down and playing too, so please read on for you will find this guide to casino gambling in South Carolina very informative if you are going there any time soon!
South Carolina State Stats
South Carolina is in regards to size the 40th largest US State and is a total of 32,007 total square miles in size and if you wish to gamble at a casino either an online or in a land based casino in any US State and you are from South Carolina then you have to be over the age of 21 to be able to legally do so.
South Carolina is known by the abbreviation of SC and its date of statehood was back in the year 1788 the current capital city is Columbia which became the capital city in the year 1786 it has a municipal population of 131,686 people. There are land based casinos in this US State and you will also be able to play online casino games at one of many different online casino sites too.
Gambling Laws in South Carolina
The gambling laws in South Carolina are just as strict as in any other US State, and one thing that you will need to be aware of if you do intend to gamble in any casino when visiting South Carolina is that you have to be over the age of 21 to do so.
All casino games offered to players in South Carolina have to be fair and completely random, and there is of course a complaints procedure that you can go through if you experience any problems with any licensed casinos in South Carolina. Also be aware that online casinos that you can access in South Carolina will be licensed in offshore jurisdictions, the gambling jurisdiction that licenses each different casino site will be indicated on each casino website.
Top Bricks and Mortar Casinos in South Carolina
South Carolina has no land based casino however in North Carolina the following casinos are available:
- 1Harrah’s Cherokee – The first casino we think you may wish to visit is this one and the address and phone number is as follows: Address: 777 Casino Dr, Cherokee, NC 28719, USA Phone: +1 828-497-7777
- 2Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River – Another casino worth visiting is this one and the contact details are as follows: Address: 777 Casino Pkwy, Murphy, NC 28906, USA Phone: +1 828-422-7777
South Carolina State Gambling Resources
In South Carolina there is one agency that oversees and regulates gambling activities in that US State and those agencies are the South Carolina Department of Revenue for more information on how they do regulate, license and oversee gambling activities in this State please check out their respective websites for more details.
If you live in South Carolina and you feel that you may have a gambling problem or are not in control of your gambling activities then you will be best advised to seek help and support from South Carolina Gamblers Anonymous who offer free and confidential advice and support to anyone with or who is affected by any type of gambling addiction problem.
Advice for Casino Gambling in South Carolina
If you do intend to gamble at an online casino and you are living or staying in South Carolina then our top tip is for you to stick to playing only at those casino sites we have listed throughout website for we have handpicked all of these casinos for you.
Each South Carolina player friendly online casino will be offering you plenty of different casino games and there will always be plenty of ways you can choose to make a deposit into those sites too, and each casino we list also has some very generous promotional offers and bonuses to give away to South Carolina based real money casino game players too!
Frequently Asked Questions about Casinos in South Carolina
As you are not going to find any casinos in South Carolina then you ill of course have to travel to another US State to be able play whatever casino game you like playing, however it should to take you too long to find a casino to play at as you can play online if you like!
Below you are going to find several questions that we do know that a lot of players ask in regards to gambling online in South Carolina so if you do have any questions that you have been searching around to find the answers to you may find them below along with the relevant and respective answer!
Are multi-hand video poker games offered to South Carolina players online?
South Carolina residents are always going to have access to both single hand and multi-hand video poker games online, and as such you will have no difficulties in being able to play any variants you do enjoy playing at many different casino sites.For you to be able to play at home in South Carolina and deposit and play for cents and dollars you should consider signing up to any of the casinos showcased on our website that have the entire suite of Real Time Gaming designed game on offer and casinos that have their online gaming platforms too.
Are penny slot machines on offer at South Carolina casinos?
Penny slot machines will often appeal to you when you fancy playing slot machines in or around South Carolina but you are seeking out slot machines that can and often will reward you with some very high valued winning payouts, and there are certainly plenty of those types of slot machines available to you.One thing South Carolina players will appreciate is that penny slot machines can be played for different stakes so they are suitable to players who are either low stake players or even high rolling slot players, so do consider playing some of them and make sure you watch the above video of one such slot in action!
Gambling Laws In South Carolina
Do all games payout the same amounts?
Gambling Casinos In South Carolina
One thing worth knowing is that the payout percentages and the house edges on every single casino game you will have access to will be different, and it is the savviest players who are only ever going to play the games that do come with the lowest house edges and the highest payout percentages.If you for example choose to play online casino games the payout percentage information and the house edge information of each game on offer at a casinos site online are often displayed somewhere on their websites, so make sure you look up that information!
What happens if a slot machine malfunctions?
If you are playing a slot machine and for whatever reason something goes wrong with that machine then do not panic, simply attract the attention of a slot mechanic of any other employee of the casino and they will then get the problem addressed quickly.As slot machines are also linked up to a central system and as such if you had any credits in that machine you will not lose them as they will have been recorded and will be available once the machine has been reset!
Can I play casino game online but for free?
One of the main benefits of you signing up to an online casino is that you are going to have the choice of either playing the casino games on offer at the casino or casinos you have chosen to sign up to as a real money player where all wins and losses will be for real or you can play at those casinos sites for free and at no risk.Casino Gambling In South Carolina
In fact, by singing up and playing for free that will allow you to get a good feel for the way the casino games play and pay, so why not sing up to one of our featured sites as see how you get on you will have plenty of game on offer and plenty of fun playing them when you do so!
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