South Carolina Religion Leaders Rally Towards Casinos, Sports activities Betting
- Gaming payments are as soon as once more anticipated in South Carolina this 12 months
- Religion leaders are rallying to oppose any type of playing enlargement
- South Carolina solely has lottery gaming
A brand new 12 months means a brand new push for playing in South Carolina. It additionally means staunch opposition from spiritual teams.
Religion Wins Founder & CEO Chad Connelly campaigns in opposition to on line casino playing on the South Carolina State Home on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. South Carolina is predicted to discipline on line casino and sports activities betting payments in the course of the 2026 legislative session that runs by Could 7. (Picture: Religion Wins)
On Wednesday, a coalition of spiritual organizations and church leaders held their annual “Pastor’s Day on the Capitol” in Columbia. The yearly occasion coincides with the beginning of the South Carolina Legislature’s session.
Whereas no gaming invoice was filed in the course of the session’s first two days, sure lawmakers have declared that they may quickly introduce laws to authorize on line casino playing and sports activities betting within the Palmetto State. Religion Wins, a nonprofit devoted to “activating and mobilizing” religion leaders within the political enviornment, mentioned greater than 175 pastors from 11 denominations throughout South Carolina gathered for “Pastor’s Day,” the place they united to oppose on line casino playing.
Christians won’t stand for insurance policies that exploit communities and weaken households,” the group declared. “When folks of religion unite to face for his or her communities and communicate reality with conviction, religion wins.”
Other than the state-run lottery, South Carolina bans all different types of playing, together with charitable gaming, parimutuel wagering, video lottery machines, casinos, racinos, iGaming, and sports activities betting.
On line casino Invoice
State Rep. Bruce Bannister (R-Greenville) plans to file laws authorizing a Las Vegas-like on line casino vacation spot someplace alongside Interstate 95, the most important freeway that intersects the state from North Carolina to Georgia. The invoice is predicted to come back with a proposed 35% tax on gross gaming cash and reserve a lot of the state tax proceeds for land and environmental conservation.
Outstanding businessman and Republican megadonor Wallace Cheves has lengthy sought to carry on line casino playing to South Carolina. After state officers balked at his effort to construct a tribal on line casino with the Catawba Indian Nation, Cheves and the federally acknowledged Native American group relocated the venture to Kings Mountain, NC. Federal officers later ordered Cheves to depart the venture after the Nationwide Indian Gaming Fee (NIGC) discovered that the Two Kings On line casino would primarily profit Cheves and never the tribe.
Bannister has proposed putting a on line casino within the so-called “Hall of Disgrace,” an impoverished area alongside the interstate consisting of components of Orangeburg, Dillon, and Marlboro counties. Cheves believes a on line casino may generate greater than $100 million in annual tax income, with $35 million allotted every year to guard farmland and forests.
With 35% allotted for conservation, one other 30% can be directed to the Veterans’ Belief Fund, 26% would go to the state’s Common Fund, and 5% would stick with the host county. The remaining 4% can be distributed to eligible counties alongside the I-95 hall.
Religion Affect
Together with religion leaders and lawmakers who vote on their spiritual convictions, Bannister’s on line casino invoice faces opposition from Gov. Henry McMaster (R). The governor says he stays steadfast in opposing casinos and sports activities betting.
In its 2025 report, Pew Analysis ranked South Carolina because the second most spiritual state behind solely Mississippi. About 46% of adults in South Carolina report being “extremely spiritual,” whereas 57% report praying day by day.
