A South Carolina proposal that could set up online sports betting will be heard this month.
Lawmakers will hear S 444 on 18 February in the Senate Labor & Commerce Subcommittee. The bill was proposed last year and was carried over into this session.
S 444 would limit the industry to eight sportsbooks in the state. It would also create a sports wagering commission.
Governor Henry McMaster, in office until 2027, campaigned against gambling.
A separate bill looking to legalise casinos in South Carolina was derailed last week. House Majority Leader Davey Hiott recommitted the bill to its original committee.
South Dakota looking at online sports betting
South Dakota lawmakers also introduced a proposal looking to take sports betting online.
SJR 504 would allow South Dakota voters to decide in November whether to allow online sportsbooks to operate in the state. Under the proposal, online operators would need to partner with a casino in Deadwood.
Voters approved in-person sports betting in Deadwood in 2020. Previous legislative efforts to expand the industry have met fierce opposition.
Maryland, Mississippi sweepstakes casino ban updates
Senators in Maryland discussed a bill to ban sweepstakes casinos.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency Director John Martin told the Senate the regulator can send cease-and-desist letters, which it has, but he said that loopholes remain. Senate Bill 112 would help close those loopholes.
The Maryland Senate passed a sweepstakes prohibition in 2025, but the House did not take up the legislation.
Maryland lawmakers are also set on 12 February to discuss HB 518, which would prohibit college player prop bets.
In Mississippi, a Senate committee last week advanced SB 2104, which would ban sweepstakes casinos.
The Mississippi Senate was the first chamber in the US to pass such legislation last year. The proposal died in conference committee, however, after the House amended it to include online sports betting language.
New Louisiana sweepstakes bill
Louisiana Rep. Bryan Fontenot pre-filed a bill, HB 53, which would add “certain gambling crimes as predicate offences for racketeering”.
That would include “gambling in public”, “gambling by computer” and “gambling by electronic sweepstakes device”.
Last year, the Louisiana legislature passed a sweepstakes casino ban. Governor Jeff Landry vetoed the bill, however, saying the state regulator already has the power to enforce gambling laws. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board then sent more than 40 cease-and-desist letters to illegal gambling operators, including sweepstakes operators.
Alabama gambling legislation coming
Despite multiple legislative sources suggesting gambling issues are a non-starter this year in Alabama, Senator Merika Coleman intends to introduce a proposal.
Coleman’s bill would put the issue up to voters. If approved in a referendum, it would amend the constitution to allow the governor to create a gambling commission and legislators to draft legislation for a lottery, gambling and sports betting.
“This bill simply gives us the ability to come back and actually establish gaming in the state of Alabama,” Coleman told AL.com. “It’s not just the lottery, it’s gaming, it’s sports betting, it’s all of the stuff that folks are talking about.”
In Alabama in 2024, a comprehensive gambling bill passed the House but fell one vote short in the Senate.
Governor Kay Ivey is a supporter of gambling proposals. Ivey created a gambling study commission in 2020.
Maine lawmakers look at credit card funding
The Senate Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs advanced LD 2080, which would prevent customers from funding sportsbook accounts with credit cards in Maine.
Lawmakers plan for an amendment to include the newly approved online casino industry. A land-based casino in Maine recently challenged the tribal-exclusive online casino law.
Virginia lawmakers look to allow college betting
Delegate Garrett McGuire filed HB 1527 last week, looking to allow wagers on NCAA Division I teams in Virginia. In the existing sports betting law, betting on events involving in-state schools is prohibited.
McGuire’s bill does have a hefty stipulation. It would tax sportsbooks 50% on the revenue from such wagers. The existing sports betting tax is 15%.
The tax revenue would support Virginia college athletics through the NCAA Division Sports Betting Fund.
HB 1527 is attached to the creation of a Virginia Gaming Commission. A proposal for a consolidated regulatory body is moving through the legislature.
Washington legislators could expand sports betting
Lawmakers in Washington are also looking at expanding the options for sports betting. The state has in-person sports betting at tribal casinos. Bettors can also use apps connected to a casino’s sportsbook on that tribe’s land.
This year, lawmakers are considering allowing tribal casinos to offer multiple operators on tribal lands, rather than just one partner.
Lawmakers are also contemplating allowing wagers on in-state college teams. It would ban player props for Washington-based athletes.