South Carolina lawmakers discuss online horse racing betting bill
A Senate subcommittee has discussed a bill to legalize online horse racing betting in South Carolina, although there was no vote on the bill.
The Equine Advancement Act, or SB 344, would establish the South Carolina Equine Commission to oversee the online horse racing betting industry and allow advanced deposit account wagering on live horse racing.
The bill clarifies this does not include historical horse racing or any other game of chance. It only concerns pari-mutuel online horse racing betting.
SB 344 was introduced in February by Sen. Michael Johnson but has bipartisan support from lawmakers like Sen. Russell L. Ott, Sen. Jeffrey R. Graham, and Sen. Brian Adams.
The Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Harvey S. Peeler Jr., also supports the bill, which currently resides in a Senate Finance subcommittee.
Johnson said to the South Carolina Daily Gazette, “This bill is very narrowly tailored. The goal is to take the proceeds from this and pump that directly into our equine industry – horse training, horse farms, horse racing, all of those things – so that they have an opportunity to compete with the other states that already have this.”
The Equine Advancement Act follows the precedent set by other online horse racing betting bills, such as SB 1128 in 2022 and SB 303. Both those bills passed through committees but never received a vote in the Senate.
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