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This was a major South Carolina sports betting concern and now things are coming to fruition. Earlier this year, North Carolina and not South Carolina were able to get things across the line in terms of having their laws changed. South Carolina has been trying to get things done, but with no luck. With things going so well in North Carolina, the bad news here is that South Carolina residents continue to flock to NC for legal sports betting.
Why is this a bad thing? Well, the fact of the matter here is that local businesses are seeing residents make their way over to North Carolina, take advantage of the sports betting laws and put their money down at restaurants and businesses outside of SC lines. The key thing to remember here too is that people in South Carolina can only place in-person or online bets while in North Carolina. They can’t do so while they’re still at home in NC.
“The North Carolina sports wagering law does not have a residency requirement,” said Van Denton, communications director for the NC. State Lottery Commission, in a recent interview with SC newspaper The Herald. “A South Carolinian would need to be present in North Carolina, at least 21 years old and not otherwise prohibited from wagering.”
While people in South Carolina are still finding ways to place illegal wagers on their favorite sporting events, plenty of people are crossing state lines to North Carolina for their betting needs. This is something that a lot of people are hoping can be changed sooner rather than later. The state has had nothing but issues in trying to make something happen in recent years and there isn’t any optimism for things to arrive soon. Until then, people are going to keep going over to NC.
March sports betting stats for NC:
-Total bet: $659,308,541
-Total won: $590,750,303
-NC has an 18% tax on gross wagering revenue, which was $66,496,213.Context: Mobile sports betting went live in NC on March 11.
Data: North Carolina State Lottery Commission
— Ashley Mahoney (@m_a_h_o_n_e_y) April 16, 2024
When will legal South Carolina sports betting arrive?
A big question that people have on their minds right now is when will legal South Carolina sports betting arrive? We wish we had a concrete answer for you, but everything remains to be up in the air. The latest reports have stated that South Carolina is in a bit of a ‘gray area’ there, as there has been no movement in recent months. South Carolina was hoping to get things all set for 2024, but that didn’t happen.
Now, people are hopeful that perhaps things will arrive by 2025. Again, no one knows if that’s going to happen or not. South Carolina officials are taking things one step at a time and they’re also hoping to see horse racing betting be on the way too. South Carolina has a ton of popularity in terms of horse racing, as people can’t wait for the major races of the year to arrive. That’s why it’s being made a priority for the state.
However, the same can be said for all sports betting as a whole too. We’ll get to football later in this piece, but there’s no question that South Carolina is missing out on a ton of potential revenue with the NBA postseason in full swing right now. In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics had no issues at all taking down the Indiana Pacers, posting a clean 4-0 series sweep. Now, they have incredible NBA Finals betting odds and a lot of people think they’ll get the job done.
With the way Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been playing, it’s going to be tough for anyone to stop them from playing so well. With Boston’s strong NBA betting odds, you’d have to assume that a lot of people in South Carolina would be all over putting money down on them to win it all. However, with things being illegal, those same people now must either post illegal wagers or cross over to North Carolina to post their bets. This is something that can’t continue to be the case.
We’ve watched their star power rise.
We’ve watched them make Boston home.
We’ve watched them win ECF MVPs.
Now we get to watch them go for the ultimate goal. pic.twitter.com/NerUtZhewx
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 30, 2024
No football betting this fall will be brutal for South Carolina
One thing to keep in mind too is that no football betting this fall will be brutal for South Carolina. At this time last year, people were hopeful that things would be flipped and legal wagers would be present for this campaign. However, that’s not going to be the case and another season will pass and go without people having the option to place football bets.
Is this something that’s going to change down the road? We can only hope so, as the state is missing out on a ton of betting action. If you think that a lot of SC citizens are making their way over to North Carolina now, you can fully expect the numbers to grow in concerning fashion this fall.
In the NFL, the Carolina Panthers are located in Charlotte and they have a ton of fan support in South Carolina. There are some exciting new players on the Panthers, which will lead to even more folks checking the NFL betting odds once Week 1 gets here. Add all of that up, and South Carolina people will surely be headed to NC during the regular season. One day, though, let’s hope South Carolina will have laws in place for their residents to place bets from the comfort of their own homes.
