Hometown Fans of Some College Football Playoff Teams Can’t Bet on College Football
The first 12-team College Football Playoff kicks off this weekend, hopefully bringing with it the upsets, drama, and suspense the sport is known for. The new, expanded format gives more schools a chance to compete for a national championship and more gamblers a chance to cash in (so they hope). One bettor has already placed a $1.5 million bet on Texas to win it all—at odds of +390, their payout would be $5.75 million.
Wagers have poured in from 38 states that have legalized sports betting. But sports betting is still illegal in states that are home to five of the 12 universities in the tournament: Idaho (Boise State), South Carolina (Clemson), Georgia (and the flagship Bulldogs), and Texas (Southern Methodist and the Texas Longhorns). (Wagering is legal in Oregon, but the state’s lone sportsbook does not offer bets on college sports.)
In 2024, legislators in six states—Georgia, Hawaii, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina—tried to legalize sports wagering. Missouri was the only state to successfully do so with the passage of Amendment 2 in December. Despite 2024’s legislative failures, the push to legalize wagering will surely continue in the new year, especially since the practice is still illegal in some high-population states such as California.
In South Carolina, Rep. Chris Murphy (R–Dorchester) has prefiled House Bill 3625, which would legalize sports betting for individuals aged 18 years and older in the Palmetto State. The bill, which has bipartisan support, allows no more than eight licensed operators to exist and taxes their adjusted gross revenue at 12.5 percent. Monies generated from the tax would go toward mental health initiatives in the state. Despite bipartisan support for sports betting, powerful voices in the state, including Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, remain opposed.Â
Hawaii is waiting for the results of a study on the economic impacts of wagering, after legalization efforts failed this year. The Sports Wagering Working Group, created by the passage of House Concurrent Resolutio
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