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Former Congressman and Democratic candidate for Governor, Joe Cunningham, specifically mentions legalizing sports betting in his campaign ad for Governor.
Cunningham has been pushing this agenda since announcing his run for Governor of one of the least gambling-friendly states in the U.S. South Carolina currently only allows bingo, raffles, and a state lottery.
“It is time to give South Carolinians the same freedom people in 30 other states enjoy and finally legalize sports betting,” said Cunningham. “This is about freedom and generating new revenue for our state to tackle our biggest challenges. All of our neighboring states have either legalized sports betting or they are taking steps to do so, and South Carolina once again finds itself at an economic disadvantage. I’m tired of letting North Carolina and Georgia reap the benefits of new industries because South Carolina politicians won’t get out of our way. Legalizing sports betting would allow our state to fix real problems and create good-paying jobs without raising a single cent in taxes.”
Cunningham estimates that South Carolina could generate at least $40 million dollars each year in new tax revenue by legalizing sports betting.
“The fact is sports betting is already happening in South Carolina; but it’s underground, unregulated, and brings in zero tax revenue for our state. So we have two options: we can let the bookies run the entire industry and keep it underground with no tax revenue for our state, or we can bring it above board, regulate it, tax it, and fix problems with the money. This is a no-brainer.”
The state is home to some of the most successful college sports programs including Clemson and the South Carolina Gameocks.
Cunningham has promised to eliminate the state income tax, place term limits on politicians, and legalize marijuana and sports betting.
Cunningham faces an uphill battle as he'll be looking to unseat a long time incumbent Republican Gov. Henry McMaster in the South Carolina's Nov. 8 election.
The last time a Democrat won as governor happened nearly 25 years ago when Jim Hodges defeated incumbent Republican Gov. David Beasley in 1998.
The odds are stacked against Democrats overall in South Carolina. Longtime 6th District Congressman Jim Clyburn is the only Democrat in South Carolina's seven-member congressional delegation.
In 2018, McMaster defeated Democratic gubernatorial nominee James Smith by a margin of 54% to 46%.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
