Online Casinos South Carolina
Although there are many states in the US where gambling is still illegal, South Carolina is one of the strictest and most conservative ones. Our online casinos South Carolina guide will explain the current legal state of the Palmetto State gambling laws and why online gambling in SC is illegal.
- South Carolina gambling law expert guide
- South Carolina gambling laws currently in force
- Online casinos in South Carolina – future prognosis
- 0 Legal Online Casinos
- 0 Legal Land Based Casinos
- 10 Legal social Casinos
- 6 Legal Bingo / Lottery Games
- Responsible Gaming
- South Carolina Department of Revenue
South Carolina Online Casinos – Laws in South Carolina
According to the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 16, Chapter 19, which regulates crimes and offenses involving gambling and lotteries, anyone caught gambling is liable to a $100 fine and up to 12 months in prison. For a second offense, the sum increases to $2000, and the imprisonment is up to 12 months.
You can see that the state government doesn’t play around. Gambling is strictly prohibited. Online casinos in South Carolina are currently not specifically regulated, but most legal experts interpret the law as not allowing real money online casino South Carolina sites. The future of gambling in SC doesn’t look any brighter for online gamblers, either. But you can keep an eye out for any upcoming changes in the South Carolina online gambling laws.
The History of Gambling in South Carolina
The Palmetto State has never been a particularly gambling-friendly place. The SC lawmakers consider gambling to have moral lowering effects and lead to crime amongst the citizens. Some of the laws date back 200 years and sound very archaic. This is the exact reason why fines and penalties are also not really effective.
It was in 1788 that South Carolina officially became a state and banned all gambling. Two centuries later, in 2002, the South Carolina Education Lottery (SCEL) was launched. The 2020 3395 Joint Resolution will legalize sports betting and land-based casinos in South Carolina if the bill passes. This will definitely be a good sign for future changes in the South Carolina online gambling laws too.
History of Gambling in the US
- New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
- Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
- Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement
- West Virginia Lottery
- Michigan Gaming Control Board
How the Wire Act of 1961 Affected South Carolina
The Federal Wire Act of 1961 had catastrophic consequences on the US gambling industry and negative long-term effects on online gambling. The bill passed by President Kennedy aimed at allowing each state to come up with state-specific betting laws by banning interstate wagers by wire communication. The ban did not affect the local SC laws. However, it may be an impediment to the future of South Carolina online gambling laws.
The Black Friday in South Carolina
The Black Friday 2011 was another disastrous event in the US gambling history. On April 15, 2011, the US DOJ criminalized top executives of three of the most successful online poker platforms, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and PokerStars, and the websites were blocked. The legalization of South Carolina online casinos and online poker became even less likely after this day.
America’s Best-Loved Online Casino Games
Online Blackjack in South Carolina
Under SECTION 16-19-40 from the SC gambling law referring to unlawful games and betting, any card game involving betting is considered gambling and is therefore illegal. There is no mention of South Carolina online casinos, but since the law does not explicitly legalize online games, they are considered forbidden. Truth be told, the law could be literally interpreted to ban any card game even when no wagers are involved.
But we believe that if online blackjack in South Carolina was legalized, there would be at least a few blackjack variations that would be wildly popular. SC riverboat casinos have made Single Deck, Double Deck, and Spanish 21 blackjack tables very popular. But the innovative Quantum Blackjack and Atlantic City Blackjack are well-liked at online casinos in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where the game is legal.
Roulette Online in South Carolina
Exactly like blackjack, roulette is illegal in South Carolina be it off- or online. The casino cruise ships do host roulette, though. They offer just the two classic variations – European and American Roulette, whereas if online casinos South Carolina were a fact, players would have been able to choose between more variants.
Two of the most popular roulette variations online in West Virginia, which is the closest state where you can legally play roulette online, are the European Roulette Pro series table and the live Black and Yellow Roulette. It’s a shame online roulette in South Carolina is nowhere near legalization because those tables would rock the Palmetto State.
Playing Online Slots in South Carolina
Nope. Still illegal. You’d be hard-pressed to find another US state as restrictive about gambling as South Carolina. It was in 2008 that Gov. Henry McMaster’s spokesman commented that gambling “flies in the face of everything South Carolina stands for.” In 2020 the SC Senate voted sweepstakes machines, which were the closest thing to slots, illegal too.
There are no locally regulated South Carolina online casinos, so it’s very hard to guess what slots would become popular if online slots in South Carolina were legal. But we will base our argument on riverboat casinos and say 88 Fortunes would be one of them. You could play real-money online slots in Michigan, where players are crazy about the Blood Suckers and Guns N’ Roses video slots.
Online Poker South Carolina
It was in 1999 when the South Carolina Supreme Court ruined the flourishing video poker industry. The local authorities ordered the machines to be unplugged in 2000 and thus, an estimated 38,000 video poker machines vanished. This was also supported by public opinion because of a very tragic story of baby Joe Baker who suffocated in the back seat of a car while her mother was playing video poker in a roadside casino in 1997.
South Carolina online gambling laws are unlikely to be forged in the near future, but if online poker was legal, it would definitely be one of the games to quickly gather a fan base. Judging by the online casinos at Pennsylvania, Omaha and Texas Hold’em Poker would be the most popular online poker South Carolina variations.
Land-Based Casinos in South Carolina
| The Big M Casino Ship I | 🍒 158 slot machines, 🃏 5 table games |
|---|---|
| The Big M Casino Ship II | 🍒 248 slot machines, 🃏 12 table games |
Land-Based VS. Online Casinos
Gambling in South Carolina is illegal both online and offline, but if we had to compare land-based casinos to casino websites, we’d definitely vote in favor of online gambling South Carolina websites. Since websites are not space-dependent, they usually have many more table games and slots compared to brick-and-mortar casinos. Also, the welcome bonuses in the online gambling world are unheard of at land-based casinos. And finally, you can gamble wherever and whenever you want (or have a spare minute).
The Future of Online Casinos in South Carolina
The Future of Gambling in South Carolina
What’s next on the timeline? A gambling study committee, which was set up after the proposal was submitted, will have to report back its findings to the lawmakers before January 2022. However, the legislators are not obliged to follow the committee’s recommendations.
Under S 67 joint resolution, the gambling committee will examine: “the social and financial costs and benefits of the various forms of gambling, including casinos, slots, table games, horse and dog racing, sports betting, and internet gaming.” It’s hard to imagine that the conservative state will jump at the opportunity to introduce the South Carolina online gambling laws but only time will tell.
Online Gambling South Carolina: No Legal Online Casinos
FAQs
In the section below, we’ve gathered the most common questions concerning the best South Carolina online casinos. We know that the topic may be hard to grasp because any information found on the official government site uses legal jargon-ridden language. That’s why we’ve done our best to provide concise and simple answers.
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