A contingent of lawmakers in South Dakota are making an effort to bring online sports betting to a state where only retail wagering is currently legalized and regulated.
Sen. Casey Crabtree and Rep. Greg Jamison are the primary sponsors of Senate Joint Resolution 504, which aims to bring online wagering to the Mount Rushmore State. SR 504 would legalize online sports wagering through a constitutional amendment. If passed, it would leave the ultimate decision of whether to introduce sports betting up to state voters in November 2026.
South Dakota allowed retail sports wagering through a constitutional amendment in November 2020, which was approved with 239,620 votes in favor to 170,191 votes against. That Deadwood Sports Betting Legalization Amendment only allowed retail betting at commercial casinos located in Deadwood, although the state also allows retail wagering at two tribal casinos located elsewhere that are operated by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe-owned Dakota Nation Gaming Enterprise.
What online wagering could look like in South Dakota
SR 504 would require potential operators in South Dakota to partner with a land-based casino, and the operator’s servers would have to be located within Deadwood city limits. There would be no limits on where the wagering could take place on the users’ end, meaning state residents and visitors could wager outside the city limits of Deadwood.
If sports wagering was legalized, 90% of tax revenue from online wagering would be allocated toward property tax relief or to reduce property taxes in the state. SR 504 also calls for gambling revenue from retail operators to be allocated toward the “restoration and preservation of Deadwood.”
In 2024, the South Dakota Department of Revenue reported $1.7 billion in property taxes.
South Dakota’s retail wagering tax rate
SR 504 does not explicitly provide a proposed tax rate for online sports wagering, but retail sports betting in Deadwood and at tribal casinos is currently taxed at 9%. Since wagering went live in 2021, the state has collected more than $3.5 million in tax revenue from sports betting. In FY2025, sports wagering tax revenue in the state reached $925,477.
SR 504, which has support from over five Republican senators in South Dakota, received its first reading in the Senate on Jan. 23 and was immediately referred to the chamber’s Taxation Committee, where it awaits a hearing.
The measure faces an uphill battle for implementation after previous efforts to expand gaming in South Dakota have failed. In 2025, lawmakers introduced a similar measure that aimed to legalize online sports betting through a constitutional amendment but the measure failed to garner support in the House, ending its life cycle.
Alabama also considering letting voters decide on gambling
South Dakota may not be the only state to discuss whether to put the idea of expanding legal gambling to the voters this year.
Alabama Sen. Merika Coleman has drafted a bill calling for a constitutional amendment to authorize lottery, sports betting and casino gambling in the Heart of Dixie. That measure, which has yet to be filed, is being drafted as lawmakers prepare for a decline in revenue for the state’s General Fund in FY2027.
