South Carolina Contemplates Sports Betting

Sports betting bills are likely to be introduced in the next legislative session, said South Carolina state Senator Brad Hutto (l.). It could generate an estimated $16 million annually—a small portion of the state's $8.2 billion budget. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey opposes sports wagering and so does Governor Henry McMaster.

South Carolina Contemplates Sports Betting

In South Carolina, church raffles weren’t legal until 2015. But some lawmakers believe sports betting eventually may be allowed. State Senator Brad Hutto said, “I’m hopeful. To me, it’s a missed opportunity if we don’t. It’s an opportunity to develop a new source of revenue for very much-needed budget items we have in our state.”

Hutto said although he hasn’t seen an estimate of how much legalized sports betting could generate for the state, observers said it could bring in $16 million annually, a small fraction of the state’s $8.2 billion budget. “For a state where an average guy can buy a lottery ticket, we ought to have an apparatus for an average guy to bet on sports to control it and generate revenue for the state,” Hutto said.

He expects sports betting bills will be introduced in the next legislative session. “Just like we do with other new ideas, we’ll have committee meetings and will invite people in who have done it in other places. It needs to be done openly and transparently, and we’ll see what we are talking about,” Hutto said.

However, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey opposes sports wagering. “Just because we can get money out of it doesn’t mean we need to do it,” he stated. Additionally Republican Governor Henry McMaster, who was against the state lottery, opposes all forms of state-authorized gambling. His spokesman, Brian Symmes, said, “It flies in the face of everything South Carolina stands for.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate James Smith approves of sports betting. “It’s already going on every day. So we need to confront the issue, and make sure we keep the criminal element out. Failing to take action to regulate this activity could cost South Carolina tens of millions in lost revenue. It’s not about big government or small government. It’s about smart government,” he said.

Clemson University Athletic Director Dan Radakovich noted sports betting is legal in some parts of the SEC, like Mississippi, but illegal in others. “I think gambling has been going on in spots for an awful long time. Some legal, some illegal. But I think as more and more states approve it, it’ll be important for us to educate our student-athletes and ramp up our compliance efforts to talk about gambling,” he said.

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford noted, “I think the ultimate question is, how do you protect the players and the integrity of the game. What’s different now that some things are legal from when it was illegal, and what does that change? But the ultimate question is, how do we protect our players?”