South Carolina Gaming Laws: What You Should Know
A Look at South Carolina Gambling Laws
The legal framework governing gambling in South Carolina is highly nuanced and restrictive. From the birth of the nation to today, many of our colonies, state legislatures, and even the Congress of the United States have viewed gaming with skepticism. In fact, the Colonial Assemblies and the Continental Congresses prohibited card playing and gambling. In 1789, the Court for Over and Terminer in Charleston sentenced a soldier to 39 lashes for gaming and playing cards and for carrying a "two-penny halfmoon." This combination of historical and social pressures against gambling led to the enactment of criminal statutes throughout the United States, and more specifically, in South Carolina. The prohibition of gambling in South Carolina is still evident in the overall structure of the gambling laws that are currently in effect. In South Carolina, "[g]ambling is illegal except and excepted defined by statute." S.C. Code. Ann. § 16-19-305. To help illustrate this nuance, it is helpful to first examine the four broad categories of gambling laws: (i) criminal laws; (ii) public user laws; (iii) administrative law; and (iv) common law and case law. Criminal law relates to gambling in three type of situations: (i) unlawful gambling; (ii) unlawful bookmaking; and (iii) promotion of gambling. Criminal gambling laws are found in Title 16, Chapter 19 of the South Carolina Code of Laws and Title 58, Chapter 23 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. To get an overview of the criminal laws pertaining to unlawful gambling, unlawful bookmaking, and the promotion of gambling, see §16-19-305 of the South Carolina Code of Laws . The public user laws pertain to gaming on college and professional sports, gaming on unlicensed auto races (i.e., not certified as a "messenger race" by the South Carolina Department of Revenue), and the state-run lottery. These public user laws are codified in Title 33, § 32-200 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. "Administrative law" refers to rules and regulations enacted by the South Carolina Legislature, such as the South Carolina Bingo Game Enabling Act of 1997, as well as legislative guidelines and directives for the Department of Revenue, such as the Regulation 49-100, the Bingo Regulations. The Bingo Regulation governs the use of Bingo cards and all activities concerning Bingo games and allows certain charities to apply for and conduct "limited lottery" games. The Bingo Board is authorized to issue such licenses. Traditionally, lotteries have been held by the states to raise revenue for educational and other public facilities. The practice of conducting lotteries in South Carolina dates back to 1696 and reflects both a social and moral concern for the good of the community. The South Carolina Lottery Act was enacted in 2001 to create a lottery to assist in the funding of education. "Common law and case law" pertains to gaming or betting by private individuals or between individuals, and includes loss limits and bet limits, but excludes wagering on sporting events by individuals. It is important to note that other than an application of common law and case law, the prohibition against gambling is absolute because the games have no established exception from the use of Note (4) above.
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