Source: https://www.usgambling.com/sc/
Timestamp: 2020-04-04 21:36:59
Document Index: 348695170

Matched Legal Cases: ['§16', '§16', '§16', '§12', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16']

An Overview of South Carolina Gambling and Betting
Land-based Casinos in South Carolina
Fantasy Sports in South Carolina
South Carolina Horse Racing Betting
State Gambling Regulatory Agencies
South Carolina Responsible Gambling Resources
Legal South Carolina gambling options are limited for the most part. Residents and visitors can play the state lottery, charitable bingo, higher-stakes bingo games organized by Indian tribes and daily fantasy sports.
There are also a pair of casino cruise ships that depart daily from Littler River near North Myrtle beach that sail into the Atlantic Ocean. Otherwise, players will need to head to North Carolina for full-fledged land-based casinos.
South Carolina Gambling Options:
State lottery: Retail sales only, no internet sales
Bingo: Charities and tribal
Daily fantasy sports: Online
Casino Cruises: At least one of two ships depart daily from Little River
Online gambling is illegal in South Carolina and lawmakers have shown little interest in changing that to date. The closest thing to legal online gambling in South Carolina is daily fantasy sports, and even that much is not explicitly clear due to outdated gaming laws that are open to interpretation.
Nevertheless, the country’s major fantasy sites accept customers from South Carolina and have done so for years with no pushback from state officials. In that case, we can safely call fantasy sports de-facto legal even if the law is unclear on the matter.
SC authorities are well aware that major fantasy sites operate throughout the state and that many residents play online, yet none have moved to put a stop to the activity.
Online Gambling Laws in South Carolina
South Carolina gambling laws do not specifically address the internet, but the laws can easily be interpreted to apply to online gambling. South Carolina makes it an offense to participate in gambling games as a player and to operate a gambling or sports betting operation.
Legalizing online gambling in South Carolina would require the introduction of new legislation. There have been no serious attempts to change the current status quo to date and there seems to be little appetite to do so.
There are no land-based casinos in South Carolina.
However, there are two Big “M” cruise ships that depart daily from the Little River Inlet between North Myrtle Beach and the North Carolina state line. Both ships offer video poker, slots, craps, roulette, blackjack, three card poker and let it ride.
Both Big “M” casino cruises depart year-round from:
Big “M” Ship I
Sails every Monday
11 AM – 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM – 11:30 PM
Bring a guest to get a buy one, get one free buffet
21+ to sail
$13 lunch buffet; $18 dinner buffet
Big “M” Ship II
Sails daily except Mondays
$20 cover charge for morning cruises
$25 cover for evening cruises
$30 cover charge for Saturday evening cruises
Casino Laws in South Carolina
Casino games are illegal across the board in South Carolina. SC Code §16-19-40 explicitly prohibits playing casino games in any place and provides a lengthy list of games that are prohibited:
SC CODE §16-19-50 further outlaws possessing or using gaming tables and gaming machines. Conviction under §16-19-50 results in a fine of $200 to $500.
Video poker machines began popping up in South Carolina bars in the 1980s. These games were legitimatized by a change in a redemption machine law in 1986 that was meant to include prizes won on amusement machines like one may find at Dave & Busters or Chuck E. Cheese these days. However, it opened the door for one of the oddest legal gambling stories in America’s history.
In 1991, the state supreme court ruled that video poker was legal in South Carolina if the machines did not pay out and instead the payment was made by a human. This opened the door to a $2 billion a year industry in the most unlikely of locations. Casinos popped up all over the state, especially along its borders with Georgia and North Carolina.
In 1993, the Video Game Machines Act capped payouts to players at $125 per day. Operators got around this by paying jackpots over multiple days. The Act also permitted counties to ban the games through referendums. However, courts struck this down as the state requires laws to apply equally to all counties.
In 1999, the state legislature passed a law that banned video poker in South Carolina. It allowed for voters to veto this and keep video poker. The South Carolina Supreme Court nullified that part of the law because the state does not have a referendum right. On July 1, 2000, South Carolina’s video poker industry was laid to rest.
Several attempts have been made to bring video poker in through the back door. This includes sweepstakes machines. All have been met with legal action and seizures of games.
SC Code §12-21-2710 bans most gaming machines and calls for imprisonment of up to a year for violations:
Sports betting is illegal in South Carolina. This includes online, mobile or brick-and-mortar wagering. It is also not permitted on the cruise ships that dock in the state.
Some politicians have expressed some interest in legalizing South Carolina sports betting despite the state’s long resistance to most things gambling. Lawmakers introduced Joint Resolution 3409 in January 2019 as a means to legalize sports betting and parimutuel wagering via statewide referendum, but the bill never made it past the committee stage.
There have been no serious efforts to legalize sports betting in South Carolina since then and it will likely be quite some time before residents have legal betting options at home. Not only would lawmakers and the governor have to agree to legalize sports betting, but any such measure would most likely have to be approved by the voters in a statewide referendum.
South Carolina Sports Betting Law
SC Code §16-19-130 states: Betting, pool selling, bookmaking and the like prohibited. This include one who “Engages in betting at any race track, pool selling or bookmaking, with or without writing, at any time or place.”
The law goes on to include an exhaustive list of places where keeping a bookmaking operation is illegal as a separate crime, which basically includes anywhere. The South Carolina Legislature has not shown interest in changing this after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.
Poker is not legal in South Carolina in any commercial capacity. This includes live and online poker. The two Big “M” casino cruise ships could potentially offer poker but have so far chosen not to do so.
SC Code §16-19-40 16-19-50 prohibits the keeping of poker tables for commercial purposes. It is illegal in all commercial uses within state lines.
Home poker games are legal under SC law provided they meet certain requirements.
SC Code §16-19-60 permits “certain social games of tiles, cards, and dice not unlawful under certain circumstances.” Participants must have a social relationship, the game must not have a rake or fee and all players must have an equal chance of winning. Social games must be in private residences or community centers. These games are not legal in businesses, even if there is no rake, as the operator could profit from it in other ways.
Home poker games must be organized carefully because police raids on games do happen from time to time. A particularly high-profile poker raid in 2006 resulted in five men being ticketed for operating an illegal home game. The defendants challenged their convictions all the way to the Supreme Court.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled against the men and upheld their convictions because the game charged a small rake and was advertised online. This case is quite dated today, but South Carolina poker laws have not changed since.
Daily fantasy sports contests are alive and well in South Carolina. All major fantasy sites accept customers from South Carolina who are 18 or older.
South Carolina’s ancient gambling laws make no mention of fantasy sports. Although it seems possible to interpret the laws as applying to fantasy sports due to elements of luck being involved, there have been no efforts to shut down the major fantasy sites that operate here.
Furthermore, the state has made no attempt whatsoever to reign in daily fantasy sports since the industry exploded back in 2014-2015. We know policymakers are aware of aware of daily fantasy because, as The State reported back in 2015, the Executive Director of the Education Lottery Commission asked the Attorney General to opine on the legality of fantasy sports.
The Office of the Attorney General responded with a simple statement:
“Our office has not received any complaints about this matter. We have no position on it, because we’re not involved with it at this time.”
It seems unlikely South Carolina will move to outlaw daily fantasy sports at this point. If anything, future legislation is more likely to formally legalize and regulate the industry.
The South Carolina Education Lottery was formed through a constitutional referendum in November 2000 and the first scratch-off tickets were sold on January 7th, 2002. Draw games were launched shortly thereafter and the SC Lottery has been going strong ever since.
Over its lifetime, the South Carolina Lottery has contributed billions of dollars to educational efforts throughout the state (primarily scholarships) on roughly $2 billion worth of sales every year.
The SC Lottery does not sell games online, nor does it authorize third parties to do so. All tickets must be purchased in-person from authorized retailers. The lottery occasionally uses the term “online” when describing games that are managed by a central computer system, but this has nothing to do with actually buying tickets online.
Today, the SC Lottery sells instant win games and tickets to the following draw games.
South Carolina Intrastate Lotto Drawings
South Carolina Interstate Lotto Drawings
South Carolina Lottery Law
South Carolina residents established the state lottery after approving Amendment 1 on the November 2000 ballot. The passage of Amendment 1 authorized an amendment to the state constitution, which previously prohibited lottery-style games, and dedicated revenue generated by the lottery to public education.
Lawmakers then passed the South Carolina Education Lottery Act. Among other things, the Act set a minimum age of 18 to play, established the Lottery Commission, created the Education Lottery Account
Lottery funds are allocated to educational efforts by the state legislature. Proceeds may only supplement, not supplant, existing education funding.
Unlike most states, South Carolina appears to prohibit betting on contests of skill. Established skill gaming websites that operate in most states generally avoid South Carolina.
SC Code §16-19-130(3) prohibits anyone from accepting wagers on the results of any “(a) trial or contest of skill, speed or power of endurance of man or beast, (b) political nomination, appointment or election or (c) lot, chance, casualty, unknown or contingent event whatsoever…”
South Carolina gaming laws are ill-equipped to deal with esports betting, so naturally there is uncertainty regarding the legality of betting on esports.
What is clear is betting on other people’s esports matches is illegal under South Carolina’s anti bookmaking laws. Betting on esports as a spectator or accepting wagers from other people are both illegal in South Carolina.
What’s unclear is whether or not it is illegal to bet on one’s own esports matches, such as paying money to enter a tournament or heads-up contest with real money payouts. Some competitive esports betting/matchmaking websites accept customers from South Carolina and some do not.
Horse racing does occur in South Carolina, but betting on races is prohibited by state law. Nevertheless, South Carolina does have a rich racing history and hosts a handful of well-attended events such as:
The Steeplechase of Charleston
Charities are permitted to host bingo games and raffles. The charity games are some of the most heavily regulated in the country. Operators, manufacturers and promoters must all be licensed by the state. These licenses range from $500 to $4,000. Charity gaming players must be at least 18 years of age.
Bingo nights have entry fees of $3, $5 or $18, depending on the size of the contest. The prize pool must be static and advertised before the event. It cannot be dependent on the number of entries. Bingo may only be held from noon to 2 AM and sessions may not be longer than 12 hours.
When it comes to raffles, drawings with non-cash prizes under $950 do not need to register with the state. These raffles may be held once every seven days. Raffles with prize pools up to $250,000 with a single prize of up to $40,000 are permitted four times a year. These large charitable drawings require registration with the state.
South Carolina Secretary of State (charitable raffles)
South Carolina Department of Revenue (charitable bingo)
South Carolina Lottery jackpot winners may remain anonymous.
Are gambling winnings taxed in South Carolina?
South Carolina taxes gambling winnings at a rate from three to seven percent, depending on the total income level. Note that we are not lawyers and you should seek a qualified financial advisor for advice specific to your situation.
Not yet. Some lawmakers have expressed an interest in legalizing sports betting, but progress has been slow.
Poker is not legal in South Carolina if done for commercial purposes.
Are home poker games legal in South Carolina?
Home poker games are legal in certain circumstances, but players and organizers of such games need to fully understand the law because police have been known to raid home poker games.
Are casinos legal in South Carolina?
No, but residents can visit one of two cruise ships that depart daily for international waters where gambling is permitted.
Where are the casino cruise ships in South Carolina?
The Big “M” Casino cruise ships dock in Little River, between North Myrtle Beach and the NC state line. See map and address here.
What casino games are offered on South Carolina cruise ships?
Slots, video poker, keno, blackjack craps, roulette, three card poker and let it ride.
Are there any reservation casinos in South Carolina?
No. South Carolina reservations may only offer bingo, raffles and pull-tabs.
Is smoking permitted at South Carolina gaming establishments?
South Carolina does not have a statewide smoking ban. This permits smoking in bingo parlors. Some municipalities have ordinances that prohibit smoking.
Is video poker legal in South Carolina?
South Carolina banned video poker in July 2000 after the state supreme court refused to permit a ballot initiative to go before voters in November 1999.
As a mostly non-gambling state, South Carolina does not expend a significant amount of resources on problem gambling. However, there are treatment options for anyone who may have a gambling problem or who is concerned about a loved one.
The South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services has a problem gambling department that provides services to individuals and families. Services include individual assessments, treatment plans and referrals to qualified providers.
Additionally, gamblers and concerned loved ones of gamblers can contact the National Council on Problem Gambling at 1-800-522-4700 or visit NCPGambling.org. Additional national resources can be found at the bottom of the USGambling homepage.