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South Carolinians will no doubt find a way to gamble on Sunday's big NCAA Women's Basketball Championship regardless of the current legal status for sports betting in the state.
A few dozen offshore sportsbooks, DFS sites, prediction markets and local bookmakers are accessible from South Carolina. Sites like BetUS have been around since 1994 and operate with an international gaming license while prediction market platforms like Kalshi, which offer simple YES and NO trading, argue they are licensed federally.
NCAA Women's Basketball Still Hot in South Carolina
The women's Gamecock basketball fan base is arguably among the biggest in the NCAA for a reason.
The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball lead the entire country in attendance every year for the past decade.
It is one of the most successful sports programs in the nation.
Even if they are not the top team this year based on seeding, the Gamecocks are still the one's to beat.
No. 2 UCLA takes on No. 4 South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament National Championship Sunday.
The Bruins' record in Big Ten play is 22-0, and their record is 14-1 in non-conference play. UCLA averages 21.8 assists per game to lead the Big Ten, paced by Charlisse Leger-Walker with 5.7.
Lauren Betts is averaging 17.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 blocks for the Bruins.
“Oh my f****** God, we’re playing in the national championship!” Betts said following a 51-44 win over Texas to advance to the Championship game.
“The entire game the coaches are just continuously telling me sprint back, sprint back, sprint back,” Betts said. “My job today was to help in any way I can inside the paint. That’s my job consistently throughout the season. As soon as I saw her getting downhill, I’m like, all right, please block this, just don’t let her score.”
Kiki Rice is averaging 14.1 points over the last 10 games.
Dawn Staley and South Carolina are back in the NCAA Tournament title game after knocking off unbeaten UConn and Geno Auriemma in a physical contest that ended with a heated exchange between the game’s most recognizable coaches.
Ta’Niya Latson scored 16 and Agot Makeer added 14 points and South Carolina played stifling defense to beat UConn 62-48 on Friday night, ending the Huskies’ 54-game winning streak.
The Gamecocks have now reached the NCAA championship game in four of the last five seasons, including the past three. They will be looking to win a fourth national title Sunday when they face UCLA, capping off another March Madness.
“I thought our players just locked in once we built a little lead. We got suggestions from coaches as to should we change our defense, start switching everything. I’m like, No, this is what is working,” Staley said. “Let’s continue to do what’s working.”
Tessa Johnson averages 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Gamecocks, scoring 12.8 points while shooting 45.2% from beyond the arc.
Joyce Edwards is shooting 51.8% and averaging 17.7 points over the past 10 games.
Sports Betting Regulation in South Carolina Probably Not Coming Any Time Soon
The 2026 governor’s race in South Carolina is an open-seat contest, as term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster cannot seek reelection. Given the state’s strong Republican lean, the GOP candidates’ positions on gambling expansion are likely to carry the most weight.
Congresswoman Nancy Mace enjoys a slight lead early on. She recognizes that prediction markets are already widely available in South Carolina.
If the activity is going to be regulated by the state, she says it should be a ballot initiative.
“It’s already here,” she said. “I would want to review any legislation (and) regulations. I’d want to know what the Legislature says. We are a republic, and they’re representatives of their constituencies. I’d be open to doing a referendum – what do the people of South Carolina want?
“If it is a 50-50 issue, what would the majority of people … want, whether online or brick-and-mortar, and here are those options versus being one person, one say. I’d want everyone to have a say because it is a controversial issue in some communities where they would never want it.”
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson ain't having any of it. He said he was against casinos because of concerns about increased crime. He said revenue produced from the industry could be offset by expenditures for law enforcement and other social costs. This position most certainly would apply to regulated sports gambling as well.
“When it comes to brick-and-mortar casinos, I’ve traveled this state,” he said. “I’ve talked extensively with law enforcement leaders, I’ve talked extensively with the faith community. They have grave concerns about brick-and-mortar casinos coming here because we have seen in other states that it brings criminal elements.”
“I think it would be detrimental to our state as a whole to have brick-and-mortar casinos here.”
Wilson regularly polls neck and neck with Mace.
Other gubernatorial candidates include Ralph Norman, who claims casinos will bring crime.
The U.S. representative for South Carolina’s 5th congressional district since 2017, Norman says he opposes any expansion of gambling and hinted that other candidates in the race may be receiving funding from gaming interests.
“I will oppose the casinos and you need to find out who’s giving money to the different candidates on this stage who are taking money from the gambling industry,” he said. “I will not do that. It’s a vice, that when you get casino gambling that wants to come in here … you get child trafficking, you get sex trafficking, you get all types of abuse. I will be opposed to that and I will fight it.”
South Carolina Sen. Josh Kimbrell seemed more receptive to some forms of gambling in the state, but he opposes adding online gaming.
“I don’t believe South Carolina should be Atlantic City, and I’ve actually not voted in favor of expanding where everybody can gamble online,” he said. “But you also have to understand that there’s going to be limited opportunities in certain economically disadvantaged areas that might benefit from a resort like Bristol, VA, has.”
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
