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South Dakota is taking another run at statewide online sports betting, and lawmakers are trying to do it the cleanest way possible: put the question to voters, then sort out the hard details later.
Sen. Casey Crabtree and Rep. Greg Jamison are backing Senate Joint Resolution 504, a proposal that would send an online sports betting question to the November 2026 ballot. It would require a constitutional change before South Dakota can move beyond its current model, where sports wagering is legal but largely confined to retail sportsbooks.
The pitch is simple: voters decide first, lawmakers fight about the details later
The resolution would ask voters a basic question: should South Dakota allow sports betting through mobile or electronic platforms. If the public votes yes, the legislature would still have to build the rules that actually govern the market, including licensing terms, compliance requirements, enforcement tools, tax mechanics, and consumer protection standards.
Supporters are leaning into that sequencing because gambling debates in Pierre tend to collapse when lawmakers get stuck on specifics. This approach tries to clear the biggest political hurdle first: permission.
South Dakota already has legal sports betting, but the footprint stays tight
Voters approved retail sports wagering through a constitutional amendment in November 2020, with 239,620 votes in favor and 170,191 against. That change tied legal sports betting to Deadwood’s commercial casinos and kept wagering largely in-person.
Outside Deadwood, the state also has legal wagering at tribal facilities under tribal operations. The practical result is the same for most residents: if you want to bet legally, you generally have to show up at a physical location.
The Deadwood anchor: statewide betting, but the business stays planted in the Black Hills
The model described for SJR 504 would require online operators to partner with a land-based casino, and it would require the operator’s servers to be located within Deadwood city limits.
So the bettor could place a wager from anywhere in the state, but the operational “home base” remains tied to Deadwood.
That “keep it in Deadwood” design is not cosmetic. Deadwood’s casino economy has always been part of South Dakota’s political bargain on gambling.
Money: the property-tax hook, and why skeptics will keep doing the math
The resolution’s headline promise is aimed directly at South Dakota’s most sensitive tax issue: property taxes.
The proposal ties online sports betting revenue to property tax relief, with 90% of online sports betting tax revenue earmarked for that purpose under the concept described around the bill.
That promise will face instant scrutiny because the baseline numbers are uneven.
South Dakota’s retail sports betting tax rate is 9%, and the state has collected more than $3.5 million in sports betting tax revenue since wagering went live in 2021. In FY2025, sports wagering tax revenue reached $925,477.
Compare that to property taxes. South Dakota property tax collections run into the billions each year. That does not mean sports betting revenue is meaningless. It does mean lawmakers will argue over whether it is meaningful enough to justify expansion.
Expect that debate to get sharp fast: one side will call this “found money” for property tax relief, the other will call it a rounding error with a social cost.
Where the resolution stands now, and what needs to happen next
SJR 504 got its first Senate reading on January 23, 2026 and was sent to the Senate Taxation Committee.
If it advances, it still has to survive the usual gauntlet: committee approval, full chamber votes, and final legislative clearance for a constitutional question.
And that is the key point many readers miss: South Dakota cannot simply pass a normal bill to create statewide online sports betting. This is a constitutional pathway. If lawmakers want mobile betting, they need voters to sign off first.
This isn’t South Dakota’s first attempt to go online
Lawmakers have tried to expand beyond retail sports betting before. A similar push in 2023 aimed to legalize online sports betting through a constitutional amendment and failed to build enough support in the House.
That failure still hangs over the 2026 effort. It is proof of demand, and proof of resistance.
It also explains why sponsors are keeping the pitch narrow: ask voters first, keep the market anchored to Deadwood, and sell it as a taxpayer issue rather than a betting issue.
The real question: can South Dakota modernize without losing control of the market
Online sports betting changes the entire shape of gambling policy.
Retail betting is visible. It is easier to contain. Mobile betting is constant. It travels. It scales fast.
If South Dakota chooses to expand, the next fight will not be about whether betting exists. It will be about the controls: how the state verifies age and location, how it handles responsible gambling tools, how it audits operators, and how it enforces rules against illegal offshore options that already compete for the same customers.
That is why SJR 504 matters. It is not a launch button. It is a warning shot that South Dakota’s retail-only model may not survive the decade intact, and that the next decision, if it comes, will belong to voters.
Source: LegiScan
