Online Sports Betting in South Carolina, Illegal But So Too is Working on Sunday

As this was going to press, there was going to be a rise in sports betting in South Carolina thanks to the Gamecocks unprecedented run to the Final Four.  So is sports betting legal in the Palmetto State?

Sports betting in South Carolina is considered a misdemeanor in the state while there are no outright laws against Internet gambling where the bets are technically placed and accepted in an international location from a few dozen online sportsbooks.

Bookmaking is also considered a misdemeanor in the state though more elaborate wagering businesses could lead to money laundering charges.  A more extreme example would be the highly publicized Brett Parker case, primarily because it involved a double murder.

The sports betting law is as archaic as those that make working on Sundays illegal.

So, too, is a man’s failure to carry a rifle to church as a means of warding off Indians.

Children under the age of 18 are prohibited from playing pinball machines in South Carolina.

And if you are considering getting a tattoo in the state, this also is against the law.

There will always be bookies but in recent years Pay Per Head businesses do help to bring much of the activity offshore through contracting services.  This includes any wire rooms and bet taking apparatus. 

South Carolina is also among the states that do not offer horse racing establishments.  Most offshore race books do accept business from South Carolina residents.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com