Democratic leaders in South Carolina have long expressed anticipation that the state will legalize sports betting. While it’s possible that Republican lawmakers would try to reform existing laws during the current legislative session, it seems unlikely at this time. According to a new study, South Carolina is one of eighteen states seriously exploring legislation this session that would legalize sports betting. Pennsylvania and Connecticut are among the states that have passed laws permitting sports betting, and fresh measures are pending in both Kentucky and Indiana.
South Carolina state representative Russell Ott, a Democrat from St. Matthews, has said that, because 2018 is an election year, it’s unlikely that municipal betting legislation will undergo significant revisions, especially because the vast majority of state lawmakers in South Carolina are Republicans. He has, however, expressed his continued optimism over the possibility of a new bill being discussed in the near future.
The Goal of the Proposed Legislation Is to Make Gambling Legal in All Forms
Ott, together with his fellow Democrats and House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, introduced House Bill 3102 last year. The bill aimed to legalize all forms of gambling in South Carolina, including wagering on professional sports, horse racing, and traditional and electronic table games of chance. In addition, the proposed legislation would make it possible to play games of chance like poker and craps for real money in the state.
South Carolina’s new gambling law was unfortunately opposed by Governor Henry McMaster. Government spokesman Brian Symmes called the legislation “inconsistent,” arguing that it did not reflect the values of South Carolinians.
Eighteen States Will Introduce Gambling Legislation
Eighteen states in the United States are expected to introduce new sports betting bills in 2018, as reported by Eilers & Krejcik, a private research firm that issued a report on the matter at the beginning of January. There will soon be significant change to the American betting environment, as the survey indicated that eleven of these states have a good possibility of seeing their new measures progressing into law.
According to the study, these percentages represent the most unlikely outcomes, and as many as 30 states could pass new sports betting measures in the following year. A modification to the constitution is necessary to make sports betting lawful. Voters approved a state lottery in 2000, with the understanding that the money raised would be used to fund education, and the legislature passed a bill the following year to establish uniformity in the state’s gaming laws. The study’s findings emerged while the Supreme Court was debating a case brought by New Jersey to overturn prohibitions on sports betting in Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana.