South Dakota Sports Betting
South Dakota sports betting law allows casinos in Deadwood to operate retail sportsbooks for visitors 21 and older.
The first South Dakota sportsbooks opened after voters approved a ballot measure authorizing sports wagering within Deadwood city limits. Online sports betting isn’t yet legal in South Dakota, but some sportsbooks offer mobile apps that guests can use to place wagers from anywhere on casino property.
Other South Dakota online betting options include pari-mutuel horse wagering and daily fantasy sports apps.
Legal South Dakota Betting Sites
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South Dakota Sports Betting Apps
South Dakota law addresses “advance deposit wagering,” but only in the context of wagers placed from within licensed sportsbooks at casinos.
SD Codified L § 42-7B-79 states:
“Any sports wagering may only be conducted in the interior of a licensed gaming establishment within the city of Deadwood. Each operator or route operator that is authorized by the commission to conduct sports wagering shall install and maintain equipment that is approved by the commission to ensure that all bets are placed from within the interior of a licensed gaming establishment within the city of Deadwood.”
In short, South Dakota sports betting apps allow bettors to skip the line by placing wagers from their mobile devices while located within licensed casinos.
Full-fledged online sports betting is prohibited in South Dakota, but some lawmakers are interested in changing that.
In early 2022, lawmakers introduced SJR 502, calling for another referendum during the next general election. The South Dakota Senate approved SJR 502 by a thin margin in February 2022, but the bill died in the House.
Undeterred, South Dakota online sports betting proponents took up the measure once again in early 2023 by introducing HJR 5006. The bill survived a close committee vote shortly after its introduction but failed on a House vote of 41-28 against. In a debate before the vote, HJR 5006 supporters couldn’t answer how the measure would impact the gaming compacts several tribes have with the state.
As a result, South Dakota online sports betting remains prohibited by state law.
South Dakota Sportsbooks
Most South Dakota sportsbooks are in Deadwood as per state law, but a handful of tribal casinos elsewhere also offer sports wagering. To begin, here’s a list of active Deadwood sportsbooks:
- BetMGM Sportsbook at Cadillac Jack’s Gaming Resort
- BetMGM Sportsbook at Tin Lizzie Gaming Resort
- Mustang Sally’s Sportsbook
- Gold Dust Casino Sportsbook
- Dale’s Sportsbook at Deadwood Mountain Grand
- BetLodge Sportsbook at the Lodge at Deadwood
- BETKOTA Sportsbook at the Midnight Star Casino
In addition, tribal-owned casinos located anywhere in South Dakota may operate sportsbooks due to gaming compacts with the state that allow them to offer the same forms of gambling as commercial casinos.
- Dakota Sioux Sportsbook in Watertown
- Dakota Nation Sportsbook at Dakota Magic Casino just north of the SD/ND border near Hwy 81
- Dakota Connection Sportsbook in Sisseton
How South Dakota Legalized Sports Betting
In the November 2020 election, voters approved South Dakota Constitutional Amendment B to permit Deadwood casinos to offer sports betting.
The question appeared on the ballot after lawmakers passed Senate Joint Resolution 501 in March 2020. The question asked voters if the South Dakota Constitution should be amended to authorize “wagering on sporting events” within the city limits of Deadwood, and it passed with a 58.5% yes vote.
The legislature passed the enabling legislation (SB 44) in early 2021, and Governor Kristi Noem signed it into law two months later. Later that year, the first Deadwood sportsbooks opened to the public.
South Dakota Sports Betting Law
After voters approved sports betting in South Dakota, the legislature passed SB 44 to legalize and regulate sportsbooks in Deadwood. The law covers a lot of ground, but the highlights include:
- Minimum age of 21 to bet on sports
- Deadwood casinos may apply for licenses to operate retail sportsbooks on-premises
- South Dakota sportsbooks may offer mobile betting, but the law clearly states customers may only place wagers from within licensed casinos
- Casinos that wish to operate sportsbooks pay a $2,000 initial licensing fee and a $2,000 annual fee thereafter
- Sportsbooks may accept wagers on professional, collegiate, and international sporting events
- South Dakota sportsbooks may not accept wagers on minor league sports or the performances of individual athletes in college sporting events
- Sportsbooks may not accept wagers on games involving South Dakota college teams
- The South Dakota Commission on Gaming retains the authority to adopt additional rules as needed to regulate sports betting
Additional regulations adopted by the Commission address the finer details, such as integrity monitoring requirements, anti-money laundering standards, and various consumer protection rules.
The South Dakota legislature has also considered expanding sports betting beyond Deadwood. In February 2023, Sen. Ryan Maher introduced SB 209 to authorize self-serve betting kiosks throughout South Dakota at businesses with liquor licenses.
South Dakota Daily Fantasy Sports
$100 Deposit BonusPrizePicks Promo Code: BUSADaily fantasy sports sites are de facto legal in South Dakota. Although South Dakota has never explicitly legalized fantasy sports contests, neither has it outlawed them.
Mainstream daily fantasy sites like FanDuel and DraftKings operate openly in South Dakota alongside niche operators like PrizePicks. As a result, sports fans suffer no shortage of options to put their knowledge to the test and win real money.
The most prominent and high-rated daily fantasy sports sites in South Dakota include:
South Dakota Fantasy Sports Laws
South Dakota has never fully addressed the legality of daily fantasy sports apps. Even so, nearly all DFS sites accept customers from South Dakota and have done so for years with no pushback from the state.
State law prohibits gaming of any type in which anything of value is wagered (outside of casinos), but it exempts contests of skill. The question of whether fantasy sports contests qualify as games of skill has never been definitively answered in South Dakota, which leaves DFS sites on shaky legal grounds.
However, the nation’s biggest operators have concrete reasons to believe the state will not be taking action against them anytime soon. In 2015, then-Attorney General Marty Jackley issued a statement explaining the uncertain legal status of fantasy sports.
The statement did not provide a firm legal opinion on fantasy sports, but AG Jackley did say he had no intention of taking action against DFS providers in the near future. The AG did leave the door open to take action should the South Dakota Gaming Commission provide guidance declaring fantasy contests illegal, but the issue has never been brought up since.
Today, South Dakotans can join any number of daily fantasy sports sites to play online for real money. The odds of the legal situation changing appear very low at this time.
South Dakota Horse Racing Betting
$200 Deposit BonusTwinSpires Offer Code: BET200Advance deposit wagering (online racing betting) is legal for residents 18 or older in South Dakota.
Horse racing betting sites that operate in South Dakota must adhere to a strict regulatory framework that establishes security standards, the fair treatment of customers, financial accountability, and much more.
In short, South Dakota online horse racing betting is safe and well-regulated.
Numerous licensed horse racing betting sites operate in South Dakota and permit bettors to wager on races held around the country. The most popular South Dakota horse racing betting sites available include:
South Dakota Racetracks
South Dakota does not have a very active live horse racing scene, but two fairgrounds hold horse races every Spring:
South Dakota Off-Track Betting
South Dakota is home to just one off-track betting facility:
- Triple Crown Casino in Sioux City
South Dakota Gambling Laws
All gambling in South Dakota hosted outside licensed casinos, race tracks, and legal betting sites is unlawful. State statutes do not exempt social games played at home, such as private poker games played among friends. Section 22-25-1 of the Codified Laws states:
Any person who engages in gambling in any form with cards, dice, or other implements or devices of any kind wherein anything valuable is wagered upon the outcome, or who keeps any establishment, place, equipment, or apparatus for such gambling or any agents or employees for such purpose, or any person who knowingly lets any establishment, structure, place, equipment, or apparatus for such gambling is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Successful prosecution of a Class 2 misdemeanor can result in 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both for players and hosts of illegal casino games. South Dakota has never prosecuted individuals for playing at unlicensed betting sites, but the risk remains.
One of the indications that South Dakota won’t have online casinos or poker sites any time soon is a law specifically targeting online gambling. SD Codified L § 22-25A-8 prohibits the establishment of any business that conducts gambling over the Internet:
Establishment of internet gambling business prohibited. 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.
Furthermore, the statute explains that any wager that originates or terminates within the state is considered a separate violation under the law. SD Codified L § 22-25A-10 makes it a Class 6 felony for the first offense and a Class 5 felony for all subsequent offenses.
South Dakota Sports Betting FAQ
Wes Burns has more than a decade’s worth of experience as a writer, researcher and analyst in the legal gambling industry and is co-founder of BettingUSA.com. As a former professional online poker player, Wes approaches his work from the viewpoint of players.