\nWe are not talking about opening casinos. We’re not talking about different forms of brick and mortar or bookies or even walking up to a teller at a horse race and placing a bet,”<\/strong> Ott said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nHorse racing remains a viable industry in South Carolina. The South Carolina Department of Agriculture says the state equine industry has a $1.9 billion annual economic impact on the state and supports 29,000 jobs. Legal betting, Ott and others say, could double the industry.<\/p>\n
House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford (D-Richland) supports the liberalization of betting on horse racing.<\/p>\n
“You’ve got to start somewhere,” Rutherford said. “It legalizes conduct that people are already engaging in.”<\/p>\n
No Way, No How<\/b><\/h2>\n
Backers of the online horse racing effort are likely wasting their time. Even if the bill would gain the needed two-thirds majority support in each chamber — as the bill seeks to amend the South Carolina Constitution — the legislation would need to go to Governor Henry McMaster (R).<\/p>\n
\n
McMaster has said he will veto any gambling legislation that reaches his desk. Even if McMaster were to change his stance — or the legislature somehow manages to override his veto — the online horse racing betting question would still need the people’s support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A ballot referendum during a statewide election would require a simple majority support to amend the state constitution. That would allow people inside the state aged 21 and older to bet on horse races online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Efforts in South Carolina to legalize wagering on horse racing are underway in the state capital. But while backers of the bill met at the State House yesterday with much fanfare to celebrate the introduction of the statute, the odds of it passing are slim at best. The bipartisan legislation, Bill 1128 — the South […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":204711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
South Carolina Horse Racing Betting Bill Likely Dead on Arrival<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n