South Carolina Online Betting Sites

South Carolina could be one of the states that makes the most moves in gambling legislation in 2019. The state has been stuck in the dark ages for some time, but the state is full of sports fans and is surrounded by other states that are definitely into gambling. Let’s have a look at the current gambling laws in the state and how they could be affected in the coming year.

Sports Betting in South Carolina

South Carolina has a lot of great sports teams, and the affinity towards the college athletics programs in that state creates a breeding ground for betting. However, until 2018, no state outside of Nevada was able to offer legal sports betting. Since the Supreme Court weighed in on the subject in May and repealed the law stopping states from offering betting, many states on the east coast have started accepting legal sports wagers. Right at the end of 2018, the South Carolina government started discussions about regulating sports betting, which is an encouraging sign for the future.

Online Sports Betting

In the meantime, residents of the state who want to bet on sports have to find places to gamble that is not regulated. This includes a wide array of online sportsbooks that take action from U.S. players but are based in unregulated jurisdictions. These sites have been around for a long time, and many continue to take tens of millions of dollars of bets each year. We  cannot recommend playing at any of these sites as your money is at risk playing with them. With no guarantee that the games are fair or that winnings will be paid, it is a bad idea to gamble at offshore sports betting sites.

The laws are likely to change soon in South Carolina and then a variety of online sportsbooks licensed in the state are going to become available. What is for sure is that not all will be equally good and the serious gambler will want to play only with the best.

We take pride in having a team of sports betting experts whose job is to review online sportsbooks and come up with recommendations of where our readers should be playing.

The online sportsbooks on our lists have all passed through a detailed examination that covers all aspects of the operation, so you don’t have to do any research yourself. This includes testing each site from a mobile device, which is very important for those of you who like to make your bets on the move or want to make the in-play bets that have odds changing every few minutes. Every site on the list offers great promotions to first-time bettors, as well as ongoing offers to keep you an active player. Overall, we think that you will find a site that works for you from this list.

Horse Betting in South Carolina

When it comes to the Sport of Kings, South Carolina has another very conservative take on gambling. First of all, horse racing itself is not illegal, and there are a few races that take place in the state during the year. However, you cannot bet on these races legally, as all pari-mutuel betting is illegal in the state. This means that there are no off-track betting facilities either, so if you want to check out the races, you will have to travel to another state.

Online Horse Betting

Most states that have restrictive pari-mutuel betting laws have an out for players – the online sites that are based in Oregon but for some reason are able to take wagers from residents of other states. In fact, companies like DRFBets and Xpressbet are found in advertising in multiple states in the country. Unfortunately, South Carolina is not one of them. Because the state expressly made pari-mutuel betting illegal, these sites shut off access to residents of states like this one.

Casino Gambling in South Carolina

The hits just keep on coming for residents of South Carolina. Casino gambling is also not available in the state. Even though here is one tribal nation in the state, and many states have given gaming rights to the tribes, the conservative nature of the southern states still applies, and for the time being there are no land-based casino options.

Online Casinos in South Carolina

Of course, with no legal land based casino, there is no online casino licensed on South Carolina at the moment. It is very likely that this will change some day and that residents of South Carolina will become able to gamble online as they please. But for now, there are no legal online casinos in South Carolina. When those appear, our team will proceed to research them fully to offer our readers detailed reviews of every element of the online casino.

Good online casinos all offer a wide range of slot machines, video poker, and table games. Some of them have added Live Dealer games, where a human dealer deals you the cards via live stream. This is a nice addition to the traditional set of online casino games. Convenience is a key component of a great online casino, and these sites offer their games in a non-download format that you can enjoy from the browser of both your PC and your mobile device.

Lottery in South Carolina

Ok, here is some good news! There is a state lottery in South Carolina! It did take some time to get the lottery established in the state (they were one of the last states to do so when it launched in 2002). Since then, however, the proceeds from state-run draw games, scratch tickets and multi-state games like Powerball have raised millions for education programs in the state.

Is sports betting legal in South Carolina?

South Carolina is a very conservative state when it comes to gambling in all forms. Sports betting was illegal in the state due to federal restrictions, which have recently been lifted. However, the state seems to have had some movement on the topic in late 2018, so perhaps it is taking a more progressive stance on the popular topic of regulated sports betting.

When will sports betting be legal in South Carolina?

Well, given that the government is even discussing regulated sports betting is an excellent sign, but we wouldn’t get your hopes up at this stage. This is a very early discussion on the topic, and given how long it took the state to establish a lottery, we can’t imagine seeing a sports betting bill until at least 2020.

What is the best online sportsbook for residents of South Carolina?

So far, there is no legal online sportsbook in South  Carolina so there are none to recommend. This is likely to change in the coming years and our team will then be able to offer a review of each site as well as our list of recommended online sportsbooks for South Carolina residents. Many of the sportsbooks on our recommended list will have an offering that generally works for all types of gamblers, but you will want to have a look at each site to see which user interface works best for you. This can be a personal decision, so while we can give you some of the best sites to choose from, you will have to take the final step on your own.