South Carolina Online Gambling
The South Carolina online gambling market is one of the nation’s most restrictive.
Unlike the vast majority of states, South Carolina has never legalized a single form of online gambling. Online casinos, poker sites, sports betting, lottery sales, and advance deposit wagering remain prohibited.
However, players do have several unregulated alternatives in the form of sweepstakes casinos and poker sites, daily fantasy sports, and fantasy pick’em apps.
Continue below for the complete rundown of legal online gambling in South Carolina. Below, we discuss where to play online in South Carolina, the legal risks you should be aware of, and how to get help if gambling becomes a problem.
Legal South Carolina Gambling Sites
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South Carolina Online Gambling Overview
| Type of Gambling (minimum age) | Legal Status | Notes |
| Online Casinos (n/a) | Illegal | Prohibited under SC Code § 16-19-40 |
| Sweepstakes Casinos (18+) | Gray Area | Operates under US sweepstakes laws. Not explicitly authorized or prohibited by South Carolina law. |
| Online Poker (n/a) | Illegal | Considered illegal gambling under the same statutes as online casinos. |
| Online Sports Betting (n/a) | Illegal | Prohibited under SC Code § 16-19-130 (bookmaking). Multiple recent legislative efforts to legalize have failed. |
| Daily Fantasy Sports (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Operates in a legal gray area. Major operators are active, but the state has no specific law authorizing or regulating DFS. |
| Fantasy Pick’em Contests (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Treated the same as traditional DFS. No specific state law or regulatory action has addressed this format. |
| Online Lottery Sales (n/a) | Illegal | The South Carolina Education Lottery does not sell tickets online; third-party lottery courier apps are not active in SC. |
| Online Horse Racing (n/a) | Illegal | Advance deposit wagering is prohibited; past legislative efforts unsuccessful. |
South Carolina Online Casinos
Online casinos are illegal in South Carolina.
South Carolina has one of the nation’s most stringent anti-gambling legal frameworks, with zero exceptions for online casino games. State statutes and the South Carolina Constitution create a hostile environment for any form of online gambling.
South Carolina law broadly prohibits participating in or operating unauthorized casino games. Under SC Code § 16-19-40, it is a crime to play at “any gaming table, or any game of chance,” which the state interprets to include online casino games.
Penalties for players can include fines and up to 30 days in jail. South Carolina authorities have never targeted individual players for using online casinos, but the risk exists nonetheless.
Furthermore, Article XVII, Section 7 of the South Carolina Constitution establishes a broad prohibition on “lotteries,” which courts and lawmakers interpret as a ban on most forms of commercial gambling.
Amending the constitution would require a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers, followed by approval from a majority of voters in a statewide referendum, a politically challenging process.
Legalization Outlook
The outlook for legal online casinos in South Carolina is poor. There is no active legislative or political momentum to authorize online casino gambling.
The state’s conservative stance on gambling, significant constitutional hurdles, and lack of experienced regulatory agencies combine to make legalization an unlikely prospect for the foreseeable future.
Furthermore, the absence of a significant land-based casino industry means there is no established industry stakeholder group to lobby for online expansion.
Any potential movement would likely only follow a successful effort to legalize online sports betting, which itself faces considerable opposition.
South Carolina Sweepstakes Casinos
Sweepstakes casinos operate in a legal gray area in South Carolina.
Most major sweepstakes casinos are available in South Carolina. Some of the most prominent brands active in South Carolina include:
However, they operate in a precarious legal environment. State law does not explicitly authorize sweepstakes casino-style games, and operators face the risk of future enforcement actions.
Sweepstakes casinos structure their operations to comply with US laws regarding promotional sweepstakes. In short, sweepstakes casinos employ a “no purchase necessary” model, offering all customers the opportunity to participate for free.
By providing mechanisms for players to play for free, operators contend that they remove the element of “consideration” (risking something of value), which is a key component of the legal definition of gambling.
Despite these claims, the legal standing of sweepstakes casinos in South Carolina is uncertain. South Carolina has a history of cracking down on machines and devices that resemble illegal gambling.
Additionally, the broad language of South Carolina’s anti-gambling statutes could be used to challenge the legality of sweepstakes sites.
Players who use sweepstakes casinos in South Carolina should be aware that these platforms operate without state oversight, which poses several risks:
- A sudden change in enforcement priorities could result in sweepstakes casinos closing with little warning
- There is no regulatory mechanism to audit games for randomness and fairness
- Players have no regulatory agency to appeal to if they have an unresolvable dispute with an operator
South Carolina Online Poker
Online poker is illegal in South Carolina.
State law makes no distinction between online poker and other casino games, placing it under the same broad prohibitions against games of chance. The statutes that outlaw online casinos apply equally to real-money poker sites.
To date, there have been no serious legislative efforts to legalize and regulate online poker in South Carolina. The political climate is not supportive of gambling expansion, and the constitutional ban on lotteries serves as a significant barrier. Any future attempt to authorize online poker would face the same challenges as online casino legalization.
Because online poker is not a legislative priority, sweepstakes poker sites are the only available alternative for players in South Carolina. Sweepstakes poker sites operate under the same “no purchase necessary” model as sweepstakes casinos, allowing them to function in a legal gray area.
However, they are not regulated by the state and carry the same legal risks as other sweepstakes gambling platforms. Therefore, players who choose to use sweepstakes poker sites should remain alert for changes in the state’s regulatory posture. Enforcement action against sweepstakes poker sites could result in their sudden closure.
South Carolina Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting is illegal in South Carolina.
The state is one of a minority that has not authorized sports wagering in any form since the US Supreme Court struck down the federal ban in 2018. All legislative attempts to create a legal and regulated market have failed.
South Carolina’s general prohibition on betting, found in SC Code § 16-19-40, applies to wagering on sporting events.
Operating an online sportsbook or placing bets with an unlicensed platform is a criminal offense in South Carolina. Lawmakers have introduced several bills in recent years to change this, but none have succeeded.
Legalization Outlook
The short-term outlook for legal online sports betting in South Carolina remains poor.
In 2024, lawmakers introduced H.5277, a bill that would have authorized up to 12 online sportsbook licenses. The bill failed to advance out of committee and died without a hearing, reflecting a lack of political consensus and significant opposition from anti-gambling interest groups.
Key obstacles to legalization include strong social opposition within the legislature and the public, as well as unresolved questions about how to structure a potential market.
Until lawmakers resolve these fundamental challenges, South Carolina is unlikely to join the majority of states that have embraced legal sports wagering.
Additionally, the absence of a central gambling commission experienced in regulating any form of commercial gambling or wagering presents an additional challenge for expansion. That’s because any expansion of online gambling in South Carolina would require the creation of an entirely new (inexperienced) government agency.
All recent sports betting proposals have included provisions to establish a new “South Carolina Sports Wagering Commission” to handle licensing, regulation, and enforcement.
South Carolina Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily fantasy sports apps operate in a legal gray area in South Carolina.
South Carolina law does not specifically address daily fantasy sports contests. As a result, DFS apps are neither explicitly legal nor illegal in South Carolina.
Fantasy sports sites operate in South Carolina under the premise that DFS contests are predominantly games of skill, which exempts them from traditional gambling laws.
Although state law is ambiguous on the legality of DFS contests, major fantasy sports operators have offered their services to South Carolina residents for years without facing legal challenges.
Additionally, the South Carolina Attorney General’s office has never issued a formal opinion on the legality of DFS, and state officials have shown little interest in pursuing the matter.
The main thing fans should keep in mind when choosing where to play fantasy sports online is to use reputable, established DFS apps only.
Although some past sports betting bills have included provisions to formally legalize and regulate DFS contests, those efforts have been unsuccessful, and the status of fantasy sports is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Fantasy Pick’em Contests in South Carolina
Fantasy pick’em contests are legal but unregulated in South Carolina.
In other words, pick’em contests operate under the same ambiguous legal status as traditional daily fantasy sports. State law doesn’t explicitly address them, but they’re available to residents.
Pick’em-style contests require players to predict whether an athlete’s performance will be “more” or “less” than a statistical projection set by the operator. Although South Carolina authorities have not taken action against these games, regulators in other states have argued that this format closely resembles sports betting player props.
This scrutiny elsewhere creates a higher degree of long-term legal uncertainty for pick’em operators compared to traditional DFS platforms. However, with no official opposition from the South Carolina Attorney General, all major fantasy pick’em apps continue to operate openly.
Prominent operators include:
South Carolina Online Lottery Sales
Online lottery sales are illegal in South Carolina.
State law prohibits the South Carolina Education Lottery (SCEL) from selling tickets or offering instant-win games online. Specifically, SC Code § 59-150-210 prohibits approved lottery retailers from selling tickets outside of specifically approved physical addresses.
Lottery couriers, which buy official lottery tickets on behalf of customers, are also not an option. Although South Carolina law does not explicitly ban lottery courier apps, they typically avoid states with restrictive or ambiguous laws regarding online and third-party sales.
South Carolina is unlikely to become a courier-friendly state anytime soon. In fact, lawmakers considered legislation in 2025 that would have explicitly banned lottery couriers.
The bill, S 0169, failed to pass, but its introduction demonstrates that South Carolina is more likely to ban online lottery couriers than permit them.
Online Horse Racing Betting in South Carolina
Online horse racing betting is illegal in South Carolina.
South Carolina prohibits all forms of pari-mutuel wagering. The ban includes trackside wagers, off-track betting facilities (OTBs), and online horse racing betting.
Although South Carolina hosts several high-profile steeplechase races each year, including the Carolina Cup in Camden, wagering does not occur at these events.
Lawmakers have considered bills to legalize and regulate advance deposit wagering (online betting). Two of the latest bills included H 3749, which would have authorized horse racing betting as a part of a broader sports betting bill in 2023, and the more focused “South Carolina Equine Advancement Act” (S 344) in 2025.
However, neither bill made significant progress, and legalization remains unlikely over the short term.
South Carolina Gambling Regulators
Several state agencies, each responsible for one of the state’s few legally sanctioned activities, regulate gambling in South Carolina:
- South Carolina Education Lottery Commission (SCEL): Regulates the state lottery games, oversees licensing of retailers, and ensures compliance with the Education Lottery Act.
- South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR): Oversees licensing and enforcement for charitable bingo and raffles and regulates coin‑operated amusement machines. Collects taxes on permitted games and ensures compliance with bingo statutes.
- State Law Enforcement Division (SLED): The primary agency responsible for investigating illegal gambling activities throughout South Carolina. Enforces state laws against unlicensed gambling machines, bookmaking, and other prohibited operations.
Responsible Gambling Resources in South Carolina
South Carolina funds problem gambling treatment and maintains a statewide helpline through the state’s behavioral health system.
Unfortunately, South Carolina lacks a unified, statewide gambling self‑exclusion registry because the state does not license online casinos or sportsbooks.
Self‑Exclusion Resources
- Lottery: Retail product only; ask retailers to honor voluntary do‑not‑sell requests where feasible.
- Fantasy/Sweepstakes Apps: Use in‑app tools (deposit limits, timeouts, account closures).
- Local Treatment Network: DAODAS‑affiliated providers can assist with relapse‑prevention plans and accountability tools.
Responsible Gambling Organizations
- Department of Substance Use Services (DSUS): Provides publicly funded prevention, treatment, and recovery services for problem gambling. It connects residents with certified counselors across the state.
- Gamblers Anonymous SC: Peer support program for individuals seeking to overcome a gambling problem. Multiple meetings held weekly across South Carolina.
- National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG): A national resource that operates a 24-hour confidential helpline. Call 1-800-GAMBLER, text 800GAM, or chat online for immediate support.