South Carolina Tribe Finds Way to Offer Sports Betting

Though South Carolina sports betting isn’t yet legal, that hasn’t stopped one local tribe from finding a workaround.

The Catawba Nation is a sovereign tribe that counts The Palmetto State as its home. And while sports gambling is now legal in nearly 40 states, sports betting in South Carolina has yet to gain any real traction.

Even so, the Catawba Nation already operates a casino that includes a retail sportsbook. How is that possible, you ask?

Because sports betting in North Carolina is about to be legal. And as The Tar Heel State prepares to launch legal online sports in March 2024, the Catawba Nation is looking to expand their footprint with a mobile gaming license.

Confused? Curious? Completely lost? We get it. And you’re not alone. Allow us to explain how the Catawba People are able to circumvent, for lack of a better word, South Carolina sports betting laws.

No South Carolina Sports Betting? That’s No Problem for the Catawba Nation

While operating a casino with a sportsbook is no-go in South Carolina, the Catawba Nation brokered a gaming compact with the state of North Carolina in 2021. This allowed them to set up a casino near Charlotte that has a retail sportsbook.

Granted, this doesn’t necessarily explain the entire workaround. There’s more to it than that. So, how did a South Carolina tribe launch a retail sportsbook in North Carolina? Steve Bittenbender of Bet Carolina unpacked all the pertinent details:

“Two Kings is one of three tribal casinos operating in the state (The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians operates the others). The South Carolina-based sovereign nation opened it in July 2021 in Kings Mountain with Delaware North, a New York-based gaming operator, consulting the tribe on the project. As a tribal casino, it currently offers retail sports betting at its temporary venue, located about 30 miles west of Charlotte.

“‘The onsite sportsbook at Catawba Two Kings Casino continues to operate under federal authority and the Catawba Nation’s compact with the State of North Carolina,’ Glen White, Delaware North’s director of corporate communications, told BetCarolina.com in a statement. ‘The sportsbook has been successful and very popular with regional residents and visitors to Kings Mountain from the Charlotte region and beyond.’”

As Mr. White notes, it wasn’t just a matter of the Catawba Nation hashing out an agreement with the state of North Carolina. They also needed to qualify under federal authority. And because that was granted, they are able to operate a sportsbook outside South Carolina.

This is no doubt a big financial loss for The Palmetto State. If South Carolina sports betting were legal, they could capitalize on the Catawba Nation’s sports gambling services. But policymakers continue to shoot down proposals or de-prioritize the issue entirely. All the while, the Catawba Nation is actually looking at expanding their sports betting operations.

Catawba Nation Has Applied for a North Carolina Sports Betting License

With North Carolina online sports betting set to go live this March, the Catawba Nation has reportedly applied for mobile gaming rights. Though the Tar Heel State has yet to approve, this is likely because they’ve yet to approve anyone. Applications are still under review.

Most expect the Catawba Nation, along with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, to secure approval. But as a Catawba Nation official admitted, this process is far from a given.

“Currently, we are in the process of vetting and choosing a partner for mobile sports betting,” Catawba Nation Director of Communications Tylee Tracer-Anderson recently told Bet Carolina. “We hope to have one chosen within the next few months and are looking forward to launching our new gaming venture.”

Partnering with a mobile gaming operator is key for tribes. Most of them don’t have the mobile-gaming experience or built-in reach of the top online sportsbooks in the United States. That’s why you often see tribal casinos and operators teaming up with corporate gaming providers. These partnerships can vary in scope and significance. Sometimes, online sportsbook operators simply serve as consultants. Other times, they host a tribal operator’s sports betting app.

And in select cases, the ties go deeper and include branding. For example, the Hard Rock Casino in Florida has Hard Rock branding but is actually a Seminole Tribe casino. The same goes for the Seminole Tribe’s Florida sports betting app. It isn’t clear what type of partnership South Carolina’s Catawba Nation will be seeking to get an online sports betting license in North Carolina. But it is clear that they’ll look to figure out any agreement soon.

Is There Any Update on the South Carolina Sports Betting Timeline?

When a South Carolina tribe is making moves in the sports gambling space, it naturally raises a question: What’s going on with the South Carolina sports betting timeline?

This inquiry can be answered with one word: nothing.

The 2024 South Carolina legislative sessions began on January 9. Since they opened, there has been little to no murmurings about the future of sports betting in South Carolina. And that’s not really surprising. This subject has remained relatively dormant in The Palmetto State for some time.

Gambling enthusiasts in South Carolina are hopeful the launch of online sports betting in North Carolina will prompt The Palmetto State to reconsider its position. After all, South Carolina will not only see how much money The Tar Heel State generates in revenue. They will also see their own residents flocking to the neighboring North Carolina to submit wagers.

Could that be the kick in the pants lawmakers need to rewrite the laws on South Carolina sports betting? It’s much too early to tell. The Palmetto State will likely want to see how online sports gambling in North Carolina fares for a year or so before addressing it. And that means the earliest South Carolina sports betting could become top-of-mind is 2025.

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