Betting in South Carolina

South Carolina’s core gambling law isn’t a modern, sportsbook-specific statute. It’s a broad ban on “unlawful games and betting” that dates back centuries and was updated rather than replaced.

Chapter 19 of Title 16 outlaws most forms of betting on games of chance, with only narrow exceptions carved out over time for the state lottery, charitable bingo, and a few tightly supervised activities.

The state hasn’t created any licensing lane for online casinos, poker rooms, or mobile sportsbooks, and none of the sports-betting bills introduced so far have made it out of the legislature and into law. Proposals like H.3625 outline what a regulated market could look like - with a commission, licenses, and taxes - but they’ve consistently stalled before becoming a real framework players can use.

That history is why South Carolina still treats full online sportsbooks as a non-starter - even while some alternative formats have found room to operate under different legal theories.

Every few years, South Carolina flirts with sports betting on paper. The most recent example is H.3625, the “South Carolina Sports Wagering Act,” filed for the 2025–26 session. It would create a Sports Wagering Commission, authorize up to eight licensed operators, and allow statewide mobile betting for players 18+.

But like earlier efforts, it’s stuck in committee with no real momentum behind it. Leadership in both parties has signaled discomfort with expanding gambling, and Governor McMaster has been openly skeptical of sports betting.

For bettors, the takeaway is simple: yes, bills exist, but South Carolina is nowhere near the kind of legislative consensus you’d need to see a legal sportsbook app in the next year or two.

Prediction markets and “event contract” platforms live in a different universe than South Carolina gambling law. They’re supervised at the federal level through the CFTC, and structure everything as simple yes/no contracts on real-world events – elections, economic data, policy moves, and even sports outcomes.

From a user perspective, you’re still doing something that feels a lot like betting: putting money behind whether you think something will or won’t happen, with prices moving as sentiment shifts. But because the product is regulated as a financial instrument rather than a local wager, South Carolina doesn’t license or police it the way it would a sportsbook.

That’s why, even in a state this strict, prediction markets remain one of the cleanest ways to get real-money exposure to outcomes without running straight into the Chapter 19 gambling ban.

If you turn on a game, you’ll see plenty of DFS and Pick ’Em ads – and yes, the big fantasy platforms do serve South Carolina.

There is no explicit DFS law and no formal Attorney General opinion blessing fantasy contests, but there’s also been no move to shut them down. A deputy solicitor put it bluntly years ago: “It’s legal until it’s declared otherwise,” and there’s been no “otherwise” from state officials since.

So practically speaking, South Carolinians can enter salary-cap DFS contests and use Pick ’Em apps that function like prop cards (higher/lower on player stats, bundled into payouts). But it’s important to understand the posture: these products operate under a skill-game theory that the state hasn’t endorsed, it’s just chosen not to challenge.

South Carolina is one of the first states where sweeps casinos are being challenged with very old law. In 2025, South Carolina Gambling Recovery, LLC filed a lawsuit in Oconee County targeting major sweepstakes casinos and fantasy brands, arguing that a 1710 anti-gaming statute makes their modern products illegal gambling in disguise.

Those platforms still operate in the state today, using the standard dual-currency model that allows them to offer real money prizes, and arguing they fit within contest and sweepstakes rules.

But that lawsuit is a clear signal: unlike many states that quietly tolerate sweeps, South Carolina now has active litigation trying to shut them down. For players, that means sweepstakes casinos and social sportsbooks are still very much accessible, but they’re not in a settled lane.

Offshore sportsbooks are the loudest voices in South Carolina search results, but they’re still the worst option on the board.

These sites are based overseas, hold no South Carolina or U.S. license, and don’t answer to any regulator, which means if they stall a payout, void a winning bet, or lock your account, you have no real recourse. They can change terms midstream, hide behind vague bonus rules, or simply stop responding - and there’s no state agency or U.S. gaming commission to push back.

In a state where you at least have lawful alternatives like DFS, Social/Sweepstakes platforms, and federally regulated prediction markets, wiring your bankroll to an offshore book is all downside and no protection.