Gaming in South Carolina

1
Gaming in South Carolina

• PRTM 820
• Jenny Cavin

2
Overview

• Gaming Background
• Legal Basis
• South Carolina Gaming
• Lottery, Bingo, Video Poker
• The Problem
• Societal Concerns
• Revenue, Crime, Poverty, Addiction
• Who Benefits? Who Pays?
• Proposed Action

3
Background

• Lotteries - over 3,000 years old
• Popular form of voluntary taxation in England
  during the Georgian era
• Pre-Columbus Native American games of chance
• Core American institutions built with gaming
  funds
• 38 states and the District of Colombia now have
  lotteries
• All but 4 states permit charitable bingo

4
Tenth Amendment

• The powers not delegated to the United States
  by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
  states, are reserved to the states respectively,
  or to the people.

5
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act - 1988

• Under IGRA 3 classes of gaming outlined
• Class 1 Social games solely for prizes of
  minimal value or tribal games
• Class 2 Bingo and Bingo-type games
• Class 3 anything other than Class 1 or 2
• Allows for equivalent levels of gaming on
  reservations as are permitted elsewhere in the
  state

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Gaming in South Carolina

• Catawba charitable bingo
• Video poker (formerly)
• Educational lottery

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Catawba Charitable Bingo

• South Carolinas only federally recognized Indian
  Nation
• 1997 Bingo parlor in Rock Hill
• Largest free-standing bingo parlor in the US
• 10 of gross revenue in taxes
• Both operator and charity
• Desire a location on the Grand Strand in Santee

8
Video Poker

• 1986 Video poker legislated in South Carolina
• SC had highest number of video poker machines in
  the nation 30,000 machines
• Easy access by minors
• Loosely monitored
• July 2000 Video poker banned by the SC Supreme
  Court
• Expanding black market after ban

9
SC Educational Lottery

• On-line lottery and scratch-off games
• 379 million to the State Education Lottery
  Account since January 2002
• Funds educational programs including
• HOPE, LIFE and Palmetto Fellows Scholarships
• School buses
• Gambling addiction services

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Currently

• Class II Bingo and related games such as
  lotteries, etc.
• Catawba charitable bingo in Rock Hill, pursuing
  Grand Strand location
• SC Educational Lottery scratch-off games
• Video poker banned July 1, 2000
• So, whats the problem?

11
The Problem

• South Carolina does not have a
• Gaming Commission.

12
Societal Concerns

• Revenue generation
• Offset other methods of taxation
• Crime
• Eliminates criminal activity
• Promote positive environment
• Poverty
• Creates jobs in the local economy
• Direct indirect (construction, bingo callers,
  cooks)
• 75 jobs (within Indian gaming) held by
  non-Indians

13
Further Societal Concerns

• Addiction
• Drugs are illegal, yet drug addiction persists
• Not eliminated by outlawing gaming
• National prevalence rate 0.8 for lifetime
  pathological gambling

14
Who Benefits?

• Gaming consumers
• Local economies
• Indian Nation
• State of South Carolina
• Potential college students

Who Pays?

• Voluntary source of revenue
• Gamers those who choose to recreate in this
  manner

15
Proposed Action

• Establish a South Carolina Gaming Commission with
  oversight responsibilities to ensure
• Fair treatment of consumers
• Enforcement of payout ratios
• Gambling addiction is addressed
• South Carolina receives appropriate revenue
• Approve Catawba bingo on the Grand Strand
• Investigate opportunities for day cruise gaming

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Gaming in South Carolina

• Questions?

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Sources
http//www.strom.clemson.edu/insight/gambling.pdf
http//indiangaming.org/library/index.html http
//www.sceducationlottery.com/index.asp http//www
.pubpol.duke.edu/people/faculty/clotfelter/lottrep
.pdf http//www.americangaming.org/
http//www.strom.clemson.edu/publications/gambli
ng/pokermath.pdf