Could A New Governor Spur South Carolina To Legalize Betting?

It’s official: North Carolina sports betting has raised taxes. Just this month, lawmakers agreed to raise the tax from 18 percent to 23 percent.

The raise comes for two reasons. One, the state needs to widen its budget, and taxes are always a default route. But two, the state underestimated just how successful this new industry would be. North Carolina betting has gone all vertical since legalizing in 2024.

Get this, in exactly two years of having the market open, North Carolina generated $1.5 billion in sports betting revenue. Of that, $287 million was kept in-house by taxing it — a number that’s now going up after this latest change.

The thought was that this high degree of success would motivate its southern neighbors to legalize, but that hasn’t happened. South Carolina remains one of the last holdover states without legal sports betting. This despite the state being crazed for its two big-time college football teams (Clemson and South Carolina University).

But there’s hope that could changed starting in 2028. That’s because a new governor could fall in love with the tax potential of it, just like we’re seeing in North Carolina. Keep on reading and we’ll explain the newfound optimism in the state toward legalizing.

South Carolina’s Political Climate Is Changing

Republican Governor Henry McMaster is on his way out. He’s been the state’s top man since 2017 (he succeeded Nikki Haley early), but can’t legally run for a third term. His successor will come down to — Democrat Jermaine Johnson or Republican Alan Wilson.

Wilson would be the heavy favorite to win. South Carolina is staunchly right-leaning, and he fits the bill. Who’s to say he wouldn’t be more open toward sports betting than McMaster has? And that’s only one piece of the puzzle. It’s believed the entire state legislature will look different next year.

According to reporting from the South Carolina Daily Gazette, nearly half of the state’s senators were not serving in the chamber ten years ago. The House has experienced even more turnover. In fact, only a small fraction of current lawmakers were actually in office during the chaotic video poker era that still shapes many older politicians’ views on gambling.

We bring this up because South Carolina’s gambling opposition has historically been driven by memories of video poker’s boom in the 1990s. Older lawmakers remember the industry exploding across the state, followed by years of political battles and court fights. For many of them, gambling expansion still means video poker.

Younger lawmakers don’t carry the same baggage as their older counterparts. They grew up in a world where sports betting is legal across much of the country (39 out of 50 states) and where neighboring states are increasingly embracing gambling as a revenue creator via taxes. That doesn’t mean they’ll automatically support legalization, but it does mean the debate is being viewed through a different lens than it has been as of late.

The Next Governor Will Carry A Big Stick

Yes, a fresh Legislature matters. No, a Governor can’t single-handedly legalize betting. But… if a Governor gets really behind the issue, this will trickle down to his staff and state legislators in the same party. They are all aligned, especially early into a new regime.

So let’s not discount how important the next governor will be to the future of sports betting in South Carolina. It’s the make-or-break moment, if we’re being honest.

McMaster was never a cheerleader for gambling expansion. A new governor doesn’t have to actively campaign for sports betting to change the conversation. Simply not threatening a veto — which is exactly what McMaster publicly said — could be enough to give lawmakers confidence to discuss and workshop a gambling bill that works for the state.

By the way, we’re not just talking about sports betting here. No, no, also on the table are casinos, horse race wagering, and skill-based gaming machines. All of them might get a boost from the incoming administration.

North Carolina Will Keep Making The Case

The funny thing is that South Carolina sports betting supporters don’t even have to make their own argument anymore. North Carolina has done it for them.

Every month that passes brings another batch of revenue numbers from across the border. And most months, they are blowout numbers. You think South Carolina lawmakers can’t look at what’s happening up north and say, “we could do the same?” We’d guess that’s exactly the mindset stateside.

All this is to say, a path to legalization will still be difficult. There are still plenty of lawmakers in the South worried about gambling addiction and the social costs that can come with expanded wagering. Those concerns aren’t going away, no matter who’s the governor.

But… for the first time in a long time, it feels like change is in the air in South Carolina. Momentum is building, and that’s something we couldn’t say for the longest of times until now.