NC Launch Date Puts Pressure on South Carolina Sports Betting

Peter Lewisby Peter Lewis
Updated: August 29, 2023
NC Launch Date Puts Pressure on South Carolina Sports Betting

Could some breaking news on South Carolina sports betting arrive in the near future? That’s what the proponents are hoping to see. This is a project that’s been in the works for a while now, but nothing has been able to get across the line. Well, things are changing in a big way with North Carolina legalizing things and wagers coming early next year. With that, there’s no question that the NC launch date puts pressure on South Carolina sports betting to get done soon after.

According to multiple reports, North Carolina has locked in Jan. 8 as the date for sports betting to be launched in the state. This is going to be a historic day for NC, as this is something that people have wanted for years. Earlier this year, it was announced that things would be pushed through in early 2024, with folks just waiting for the date to arrive. Now, we know that Jan. 8 will be when things will open for operation.

Already, we’re seeing a tremendous amount of hype surrounding things. North Carolina is working closely with sportsbooks to get the ball rolling. In the coming months, things will get finalized and we’ll see promotions start to get sent out for people to try and get on board. However, all this is going to do is make people in South Carolina quite upset that the state is still sitting on their hands and feet in getting something done.

There’s a strong connection between SC and NC, which is only going to make people push even harder for South Carolina to get with the program soon. From the looks of things, lawmakers in South Carolina are still trying to make something happen by next year, but it’s unknown if any kind of progress will be made. There’s a big fear that South Carolina could be without legal sports betting until 2025 or 2025. That’d be a nightmare for local citizens.

North Carolina launching sports betting is bad news for South Carolina businesses

When looking at the financial ramifications of this, there’s no question that North Carolina launching sports betting is bad news for South Carolina businesses. North Carolina is about to become a popular vacation destination for SC citizens, as they’re going to want to take advantage of legal sports betting in a nearby state. This is why a lot of people end up traveling to Las Vegas during the football season.

This will be the case for people in South Carolina, especially in a place like Charlotte. Charlotte is a big city and they’re home to the Carolina Panthers. In South Carolina, there’s strong NFL betting interest, which makes the Panthers a team that people in the state are focused on from start to finish during the regular season. While betting in North Carolina won’t arrive until the NFL postseason gets here, the interest will 100 percent be high.

In early January, we could see countless people in South Carolina pack their bags and head to North Carolina for tourism reasons now that legal betting will be on the menu for them to take part in. This is a disappointment, as local businesses would benefit from that money being kept in the state. However, with so many people expected to cross state lines here, that’s money that’s going to be heading elsewhere.

The South Carolina Government is hopeful of legalizing sports betting within the next 18 months or so, but there isn’t much optimism there. From our chair, it’s a need for lawmakers and officials to try and prove through. It doesn’t help that the South Carolina Governor doesn’t appear to be in any kind of rush to get things done, though. Soon enough, SC will need to make this a priority.

College football betting would be massive in South Carolina

Once SC does get the ball rolling with legalization, there’s no question that college football betting would be massive in South Carolina. Right now, people all over the state are checking the NCAAF betting odds despite nothing being able to get done from a betting standpoint. That’s because the South Carolina Gamecocks are an SEC powerhouse and they’re hoping to record a memorable season in 2023.

The expectations are always high for the program, as they feature NFL Draft prospects each season. While teams like Alabama, Georgia and Florida are always going to have a lot of attention on them in the SEC, South Carolina seems to post a memorable upset each season. Will more of the same be on the way for them in ’23? We think so.

With that said, the state is losing revenue opportunities without legal options available to sports fans in SC. For North Carolina, the Jan. 8 launch means that things could arrive in time for the National Championship Game. That means that countless football supporters will put their money down on the natty. This could also lead to people in South Carolina making their way to NC for that game. This is something officials need to keep in mind.

Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis Jr. comes from Mississippi where he and his family spend their days discussing college football, baseball and basketball. He's written sports journalism for years after studying journalism at a local university. Over time, Peter has cultivated extensive knowledge covering sports betting legislation across the country. He closely tracks the latest regulatory developments and provides key insights into their impacts. Peter also offers sharp MLB betting analysis, leveraging stats and trends to identify value on matchups.

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