Online Casinos in South Dakota

South Dakota Has a Statutory Chapter Called Internet Gambling

South Dakota does not leave online gambling to inference. Chapter 22-25A of the South Dakota Codified Laws is headed Internet Gambling and contains two operative prohibitions. The first is addressed to operators taking bets: "Except as provided in § 22-25A-15, no person engaged in a gambling business may use the internet or an interactive computer service to bet or wager." The second is addressed to setting up shop in the state: "Except as provided in § 22-25A-15, no person may establish a location or site in this state from which to conduct a gambling business on or over the internet or an interactive computer service."

The chapter's reach does not depend on where the server sits: "A violation of § 22-25A-7 or 22-25A-8 occurs if the violation originates or terminates, or both, in this state." And the penalty is criminal rather than administrative: "Any person who violates § 22-25A-7 or § 22-25A-8 is guilty of a felony as follows:", with a first offence a Class 6 felony and a later one a Class 5 felony. The chapter defines what it is prohibiting in broad terms, covering any arrangement "to directly or indirectly take, receive, or accept money or any valuable thing with the understanding or agreement that the money or valuable thing will be paid or delivered to a person if the payment or delivery is contingent upon the result of a race, contest, or game or upon the happening of an event not known to be certain".

The single exception is narrow and names two bodies: "This chapter does not apply to the South Dakota Lottery and its licensees, who are engaged in conduct in furtherance of activity expressly authorized, licensed, and regulated under the provisions of chapter 42-7A or to the South Dakota Commission on Gaming and its licensees, who are engaged in conduct in furtherance of activity expressly authorized, licensed, and regulated under the provisions of chapters 42-7 and 42-7B." Neither is authorised to run an online casino, so the exception does not open one. No online casino is licensed in South Dakota, and this site does not point readers at operators that are not licensed where they are.

Casino Gaming Is Geographically Confined

Commercial casino gaming in South Dakota exists in one town. The authorising statute reads: "Limited card games, slot machines, craps, roulette, keno, and wagering on sporting events are hereby authorized, and may be operated, conducted, and maintained, within the city limits of the city of Deadwood, South Dakota, subject to the provisions of this chapter." Regulation follows the same boundary: "Gaming within the city limits of the city of Deadwood shall be regulated by the South Dakota Commission on Gaming."

Sports Wagering Is Licensed, and Still Not Remote

South Dakota's treatment of sports betting is a useful test of how narrow the state's online allowance is, and it must not be read across to casino games. Deadwood licensees may take sports bets, but the wager has to be placed in the building: "Any sports wagering may only be conducted on the premises of a licensed gaming establishment as approved by the commission within the city of Deadwood." An account-funding mechanism exists, and it exists to pay for bets placed on site. A state that will not allow a sports bet to be struck from outside a licensed room has made no provision at all for online casino play.

Regulator and Minimum Age

The regulator describes itself on its own pages: "The South Dakota Commission on Gaming is a five-member commission appointed by the Governor of the State of South Dakota." Its scope is "The Commission regulates limited wagering in Deadwood, as well as live horse and simulcast racing." The statutory age for taking part in gaming is 21 — "Any participant in any gaming shall be twenty-one years or older." — and the Commission states the same figure in plainer words: "You must be at least 21 years of age for wagering in the casinos in Deadwood and at the tribal casinos."

Sweepstakes Casinos

No South Dakota statute, regulator statement or attorney general opinion found for this sheet addresses dual-currency sweepstakes casinos specifically, so no sweepstakes status is recorded for the state rather than one being inferred from the internet gambling chapter, from a neighbouring state, or from a national trend. A sweepstakes casino is not a licensed alternative to a real-money one, and the two are never presented here as the same product.