S.C. Casino Opponents Took Millions From Government-Run Gambling

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There’s an admonition from Jesus Christ‘s Sermon on the Mount as it relates to not judging… lest we be judged.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Christ said. “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

That lesson is applicable to South Carolina politicians on multiple levels… but it fits particularly well regarding the issue of gaming. Dozens of ostensibly “conservative” lawmakers love to rail against the evils of gambling – which they regard as a vice – but are all too happy to rake in tens of millions of dollars from government’s gambling monopoly, the S.C. Education Lottery.

In other words gambling is bad… unless they are profiting from it.

Those politicians are not alone in their hypocrisy, it would appear.

Two weeks ago, FITSNews published a report on social conservative opposition to a proposed “transformative” casino development slated for Santee, S.C. This high-end, state-of-the-art project would bring approximately 1,000 jobs to this impoverished, opportunity-starved region of the Palmetto State – creating an estimated $8 billion in economic impact within the first ten years of operation.

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The best part of this proposal? It is not seeking any taxpayer subsidization.

“We strongly believe that this investment should be driven by private enterprise, not taxpayer dollars, ensuring no financial risk to the public sector,” Greenville, S.C. businessman Wallace Cheves noted in touting the development.

In other words, this deal isn’t a “gamble” for taxpayers.

Nonetheless, social conservatives in the legislature – and leaders of the South Carolina “religious” community – are opposing it. And quoting chapter and verse from the Bible in doing so.

Among those leading the opposition? The socially conservative Palmetto Family Council.

“We must not allow South Carolina to become a gambling mecca,” the group’s president, Steve Pettit, noted – adding “we know from God’s Word that virtue never rises from vice.”

Is that so…

Perhaps Pettit could explain, then, why Bob Jones University – the Christian college he led from 2014-2023 – has received nearly $11 million in lottery revenues over the previous four fiscal years, according to the S.C. Commission on Higher Education (SCCHE).

Or… does “virtue not arising from vice” only apply when others are taking money from supposedly illicit sources?

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RELATED | FAMILY LEADERS BLAST PRO-GAMING BILLS

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Another group spouting the same scripture passage in opposition to the proposed casino is the South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC). According to this group, “the addiction, corruption, crime, and human suffering that will accompany casinos far outweigh any supposed financial benefit.”

“Remember that sinful desire, always wanting more and more, leads us down a path of self-destruction and virtue cannot rise out of vice,” stated Tony Beam, a policy consultant for SCBC. “(We) can do better than putting South Carolinians’ financial and spiritual well-being at stake by opening our doors to more gambling.”

Once again, Beam might be wise to heed his own counsel.

In addition to his consulting gig with the Baptists, Beam is the senior director of church and community engagement for North Greenville University (NGU). According to SCCHE records, NGU has received $15.2 million in lottery revenues over the four previous fiscal years.

Additionally, two other schools affiliated with the SCBC – Anderson University and Charleston Southern University – have received $37.6 million and $22.5 million, respectively, over the four previous fiscal years from lottery revenues.

All told, religious-based institutions of higher learning in the Palmetto State have received nearly $120 million in lottery revenues over the four previous fiscal years, per SCCHE data.

To be clear: I am not blaming these institutions for availing themselves of a revenue stream which was created by the state for the expressed purpose of subsidizing higher education. I am, however, calling them hypocrites for quoting scripture in opposition to private sector gambling at the same time they are fattening their pockets with money from state-sponsored gambling.

I furthermore call attention to these disbursements – and disbursements of lottery funds to any private higher education institution – to those hanging their hats on a recent S.C. supreme court ruling that struck down the Palmetto State’s fledgling school choice program.

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander… except in South Carolina, apparently.

Hypocrisy, it would seem, is everywhere in this state…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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