Should South Carolina allow sports betting? Here are some things to consider first | Opinion
Missouri’s legalization of sports betting last month means 39 states now allow it. South Carolina does not, but the possibility of gambling on gambling here is growing. Lawmakers introduced a bill to legalize sports betting in 2023 that stalled, and they will revisit the subject in the next session.
They should tread carefully, though, because as anyone with curiosity, a computer and a couple hours for research could tell you, sports betting is as much a land mine as a money tree for state coffers. Gambling can make life grim for bettors, their loved ones and others.
Sports betting rakes in $11 billion in revenue a year for companies that promote it relentlessly at the professional and collegiate level and $2.4 billion in tax proceeds a year for the states that allow it, but South Carolina won’t rush in recklessly. Gov. Henry McMaster opposes sports betting here where college athletes are kings and queens, and it’s too soon to predict what legislators will do. Here are some things to consider about sportsbooks in our pockets.
For starters, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Twelve states collected less revenue from sports betting in 2023 than in 2022. And this year several new studies found it can elevate risks of debt, credit worthiness, bankruptcy, addiction and even domestic violence. In a state that’s considering less regulation over the giant industry of energy generation, lawmakers would be wise to recognize that sports betting would require responsible regulations.
If South Carolina lawmakers are going to entertain changing entertainment next year, they need to read the studies, weigh any risks against any revenue boost and consider the words of worried experts like NCAA president Charlie Baker and the situation not just in other states but in Europe, where sports betting has been legal longer and clampdowns on advertising followed.
On Tuesday, Baker urged Congress to curb issues that have arisen, especially with gambling addictions and the abuse of athletes, since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling opened gambling’s floodgates nationwide. In one high-profile problem, one of the eight teams in the 2023 college baseball tournament won by LSU required police protection following a threat from a gambler, according to CBS Sports.
The University of South Carolina is certainly no stranger to the college World Series. It won back-to-back national titles in 2010 and 2011. Imagine if those games had played out amid legalized gambling. Now imagine betting on USC quarterback LaNorris Sellers’ rushing yards (many!) or Clemson University’s sack total (none!) during the next Palmetto Bowl. Or betting on USC forward Chloe Kitts getting over 19.5 combined points and rebounds in her next game. (Yes!) Betting sure sounds like fun until it becomes a habit that’s hard to quit.
Many states that allow sports betting don’t allow such prop bets in college sports. It’s only one of the ways that sports betting gets complicated fast. Another issue is what age to permit such gambling. In most states, that age is 21. In a few, it’s 18, which is where South Carolina House Bill 3625 would set the age limit. So are college students, for example, savvy enough to resist the addictive rush and pervasive advertising of sports gambling? That’s something to consider in a state that just banned student cellphone use in public schools.
The National Council on Problem Gambling pegged the social cost to families and communities from gambling-related addiction, bankruptcy and crime at almost $14 billion last year. Keith Whyte, the organization’s executive director, saw the marketing onslaught coming. In 2018, he feared a “Frankenstein’s monster of advertising, access and action,” and now we have sports stars bombarding us with betting opportunities in the middle of games.
Meanwhile, states allowing and regulating sports gambling are seeing wildly different results while applying tax rates to those doing the business that range from 6.75% in Iowa to 51% in New York and New Hampshire. And of course, the gamblers themselves lose billions of dollars in any given year. So should South Carolina allow it?
On our border, Georgia does not allow sports betting, and North Carolina legalized it in March and raised $98.6 million in tax revenue in the first nine months. More than half of Americans now live in states that allow sports betting, but large states like Texas and California do not. Even in states where it has been embraced, residents are divided. Out of nearly 3 million votes cast in Missouri, sports betting passed by a margin of fewer than 3,000.
The renewed debate will be acute in the Midlands where House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, has signed onto a bill introduced by Rep. Chris Murphy, R-Dorchester, to legalize sports betting. The state Senate lost an advocate for sports betting with the ouster of former Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, in November, but it gained one in Sen. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, who introduced a bill to legalize horse race gambling as a state representative.
We’ll soon see if South Carolina follows the siren song of sports betting in 2025. For now, lawmakers need to know there’s no easy money in it and even the debate about it will be hard.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Should South Carolina allow sports betting? Here are some things to consider first | Opinion."