Top Online Live Dealer Casinos for South Carolina

There are states that we call conservative or liberal when it comes to the games of chance, and then there is, well… South Carolina. Not much is going on in the gambling industry of this state with most of the betting experiences being explicitly prohibited.

Residents of the state are scraping the bottom of the barrel with the lotteries, charitable gambling, and a couple of casino ships that regularly sail off to international waters to offer a limited selection of slots and table games. Of course, there is no talk of online live casinos regulated in South Carolina. Those who enjoy placing wagers online will need to look for international operators.

The law of the state goes as far as to even ban private gambling. Texas Hold’em is proclaimed unlawful in private residences. And while residents of other conservative states at least have the right to own vintage slot machines at home, in South Carolina such ownership is out of the question.

The legal body in charge of regulating gambling in the reviewed state is the South Carolina Department of Revenue. The group acts in accordance with the South Carolina Code of Law. As of 2017, legislators have made several attempts to push the envelope of gambling in the state. There were a couple of bills in the writing.

The first one involved sports betting — offline and interactive — but since 2017, the needle was not moved much in the direction of legalization. The second bill revolved around commercial casinos, but that piece of legislature is still more a project than a solid perspective.

All of these things considered, we will now move on to introducing alternatives — online operators that accept players from the United States, including South Carolina.

The gross gambling turnover on gambling in South Carolina reaches 899 million USD per year. Out of this sum, around 57 million USD come from casino ships and live bingo combined, and some 822 million USD come from lotteries. As far as offshore gambling goes, the total player interactive gross win is anywhere between 180 to 200 million USD per year.

Commercially Operated Casinos in South Carolina

Neither tribal nor commercially operated casinos are available in the state of South Carolina. And with racetracks being out of the law, there is not even a small racino to substitute for traditional casino services.

Instead, the state left casino ships to those who would like to play games of chance from time to time. The difference with riverboat casinos is the fact that these casino ships actually need to sail off into international waters. For this, they charge their passengers fees. It also takes time to board the ships, and with the sailing time being limited, there is not much to do for those players who prefer going into long gambling sessions.

The company operating such casino ships in South Carolina is The Big M with its two yachts. Each yacht has around 400 slot machines onboard, as well as video pokers, video keno, and table games — pokers, blackjack, craps, and roulette.

Charitable Gambling in South Carolina

In South Carolina, charitable gambling is possible but heavily regulated. There is a list of non-profits that can hold such events, and the events are limited to no more than one time a week per organization. Most frequently, charitable gambling boils down to raffles.

Lotteries in South Carolina

Lotteries are regulated by the state and provided by contractors. In 2018, a 10-year contract was signed with IGT. The state is affiliated with national Powerball and Mega Millions. The surplus from the lotteries goes to fund the state’s charitable events and initiatives.