Absence of South Carolina Sports Betting Not Expected to Stop March Madness Gambling

As gambling on 2025 March Madness ramps up, South Carolina sports betting laws continue to prohibit state residents from joining the action. Unless, of course, they are willing to travel.

Years ago, this would mean visiting Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Using reputable offshore betting sites was (and remains) an option. But as the proliferation of online sports betting in the United States continues, South Carolians have more alternatives at this disposal than ever. 

Chief among them: North Carolina sports betting.

Ever since The Tar Heel State launched sports gambling operations in March 2024, it has served as a workaround for those in neighboring states. This includes South Carolina. And it especially includes South Carolina when it comes to betting on March Madness. College basketball is the second-biggest draw in The Palmetto State, right behind college football.

Of course, it remains difficult to pinpoint how many South Carolians bet on sports in North Carolina. Similar to tracking those to visit offshore betting sites, exact numbers are impossible to track. But recent data does drive home one thing, even if it’s not a perfect measure: There is a clear demand for South Carolina sports betting despite the enduring absence of legalization.

South Carolina Sports Betting Attempts Remain on the Come-Up

Data from the company GeoComply shows that there’s been a serious uptick in South Carolina sports betting attempts since last year when The Tar Heel State launched legal wagering. Here is Lamaur Stancil of The Post and Courier with more:

"’Looking at this past NFL season, we identified more than 7.7 million geolocation checks and more than 365,000 mobile sports betting accounts in South Carolina,’ said John Pappas of GeoComply, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based geolocation technology company that handles checks for multiple sportsbook apps. That's a 436 percent increase in accounts from the 2023 National Football League season, Pappas said, which was a few months before North Carolina legalized online gambling.

“‘That gave a hint that there's a lot of people that would be interested in doing it,’ said Steve Shapiro, professor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina. ‘What would be really fascinating is how many people are actually crossing over the border. I would imagine there would be a significant amount of South Carolinians crossing over, especially since so many do it for work regularly. It could be integrated into regular travel that South Carolinians already do.’”

As Shapiro alludes to, we need more information on just how many South Carolinians are crossing into North Carolina. But the sheer amount of account growth speaks volumes. Creating them is proof of interest.

You have to cross state lines to use those. Granted, you can create them from everywhere. So a better metric might be how many of those 365,000 South Carolina sports betting accounts have actually been used in the past year. And to that end…

There Were More Than 7 Million Attempts to Bet on Sports in South Carolina During Football Season

It can get lost in the verbiage, but there were millions of attempts to bet on sports in South Carolina during this past football season. That is what “geolocation checks” stands for. It is basically the number of times South Carolinians attempted to bet on sports and were blocked.

This is further evidence of interest. But it may also be proof of actual sports betting.

Sure, many of these attempts can originate from people who do not understand South Carolina sports betting laws. They will try to place a wager, see they can’t and move along. However, if you go through the trouble of making an online sports betting account, you are statistically more likely to know your state’s laws. 

Would a majority of these betting attempts really be from people randomly trying to see what happens? Perhaps. But they could also come from people who might have been trying to gauge whether they were far enough across state lines to push their wagers through. After being unsuccessful, they would then move further into North Carolina. 

This sounds elaborate. It’s really not. As professor Shapiro notes, shuffling between South Carolina and North Carolina is part and parcel for many daily or weekly commutes. There is a chance that a lion’s share of NFL sports betting attempts were ultimately successful if they fall under this umbrella. And The Palmetto State can expect a similar trend, if not a more profound one, during the 2025 March Madness Tournament.

What Does the Outlook for Sports Betting in South Carolina Look Like

You are not alone if you believe the aforementioned data will push South Carolina officials to more closely consider the legalization of sports betting. Many think North Carolina sports will eventually be the tipping point. 

This will invariably require more in-depth discussion among policymakers. That has yet to happen. South Carolina state legislature meetings are taking place at this writing. Sports betting has yet to seriously crack the agenda. And since we are coming out of an election year, this is potentially reflective of a more indefinite stance.

To be sure, things can always change. The data on South Carolina sports betting attempts will only get more detailed from here. As that happens, The Palmetto State will have a firmer hold on how much revenue it is potentially missing out on. And despite all the moral opposition to sports betting in the United States, matters of dollars and cents tend to win out in the end.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: