South Dakota
Sports betting delivers a jackpot for Deadwood
DEADWOOD, S.D. (South Dakota News Watch) – If casino operators in Deadwood could conjure the ideal target audience for their sports betting operations, Lance Chapdelaine and his buddies from Colorado would be the proverbial jackpot.
The 25-year-old banker and several pals made the Tin Lizzie Gaming Resort their home base on a weekend in early March, driving five hours from Haxtun, Colorado, for a bachelor party in the Black Hills. They stayed in the hotel, ate and drank on property and placed bets on sporting events during their multi-day stay.
“There’s nothing better than drinking a couple beers with your friends while watching college basketball, and betting makes it more intense and fun to watch the games,” Chapdelaine said.
The small cadre of Coloradans was happy to be part of what has quickly become a lucrative new addition to the gaming scene in Deadwood, where gambling was legalized in 1989 and expanded in 2015 to allow roulette, keno and craps.
South Dakota voters approved sports betting in 2020 via a constitutional amendment.
Since its implementation in September 2021, the number of sports books has risen from two to seven. The amount wagered also has risen steadily, as have casino revenues from sports wagering. Deadwood sports books saw their “handle,” or the total amount bet, top $1 million in a month for the first time in October 2023.
With a $1,000 betting bankroll, Chapdelaine had lost money in the casino but was doing better in the sports book at Tin Lizzie. Even though sports betting is legal in Colorado, the casino scene and upbeat vibe of Deadwood lured him in for the bachelor party as well as three previous visits to the western South Dakota gaming mecca in the past two years.
“We’re small-town kids, so the environment in Deadwood is attractive to us,” Chapdelaine said as he and his friends watched college basketball at the Tin Lizzie sports book, had bratwursts for lunch and filled their glasses from a 4-foot vertical plastic tube known as the beer tower. “This is the place to be, I think.”
According to the South Dakota Department of Revenue, gamblers in Deadwood wagered $2.7 million on sports in 2021, $7.2 million in 2022 and $9 million in 2023, a 26% increase from the year prior.
While the money bet on sports in Deadwood is dwarfed by slot machine play ($1.45 billion bet in 2023) and wagering on table games ($89.7 million bet in 2023), the addition of glitzy betting areas surrounded by massive TVs showing all manner of sporting events has provided Deadwood a jolt of new energy, new clientele and new revenues.
“If success is measured by positive guest experience and robust enthusiasm, then Deadwood sports betting is a smashing success,” David Knight, vice president of operations for Liv Hospitality, which manages two Deadwood casinos, wrote to News Watch in an email. “It’s undeniable that sports betting has turned Deadwood into a more attractive destination as sports has a unique power of bringing complete strangers together to socialize, watch games and enjoy uncommon camaraderie in a vibrant and exciting atmosphere.”
The consistent growth of sports betting in Deadwood dovetails with a massive rise in sports wagering across the country, as the availability and interest in gambling on sporting events have exploded since the U.S. Supreme Court deemed sports gaming legal in 2018.
According to a report from the American Gaming Association, bettors in the U.S. gambled $120 billion on sports in 2023, a 28% jump from the year prior. Revenue for sports gambling operators also rose sharply to $10.9 billion in 2023, a nearly 45% increase over 2022. In all, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting, and much of that betting is done online.
In South Dakota, that increased sports betting has helped turn Deadwood’s gaming industry into a major contributor of tax money to a variety of recipients.
“Deadwood casinos contributed over $16.6 million in gaming tax revenue for historic preservation, tourism promotion, Lawrence County and its municipalities and schools, the State of South Dakota’s general fund and other governmental entities,” the Deadwood Gaming Association said in 2023.
But the rapid rise of sports wagering also has raised concerns that it can lead to gambling addiction, mental health problems or other unhealthy behaviors, especially among young men.
A 2023 Rutgers University study of gambling trends in New Jersey, the nation’s top state for sports wagering, revealed alarming data about the propensity of some bettors to become addicted to gaming.
Surveys showed that most sports bettors tended to be men under 45 and that more than 90% gambled with moderate or high frequency. The report’s findings suggest that people who bet on sports were prone to a variety of negative behaviors.
“Those who bet on either sports or horses were significantly more likely than others to use tobacco, alcohol, and/or illicit drugs, binge drink, report problems with drugs/alcohol, and engage in all types of addictive behaviors,” the report stated. “In addition, those in the three youngest age categories, ages 18 to 44, were overrepresented among high-risk problem gamblers.”
Anyone concerned about their gambling can get help over the phone by calling the South Dakota Lottery Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-888-781-HELP (888-781-4357.)
Sports betting has led to some fundamental changes in the gaming industry in Deadwood, according to Josh Thurmes, general manager at Tin Lizzie.
While the gender breakdown among casino patrons used to be slightly more female than male, sports betting has attracted more men to Deadwood casinos and evened up the gender breakdown, he said. Patrons in sports books also tend to skew a bit younger than in the casino as a whole.
But the changes run deeper than that, Thurmes said.
For example, the traditional gaming high season in Deadwood for years has followed that of the larger Black Hills tourism market, running roughly from May to September.
The incredible interest in betting on college and NFL football games has provided Deadwood with a burst of new patrons from the start of football season in September through the college football playoffs in January and onto the Super Bowl in early February, Thurmes said. The upcoming March Madness men’s college basketball tournament will also bring a burst of patrons to the sports books at a time when gaming traditionally slowed down in Deadwood, Thurmes said.
“Summer is still the peak season, but sports betting is definitely driving guests to Deadwood in non-typical peak times,” Thurmes told News Watch.
During major sporting events, the sports books are even able to charge patrons a fee to reserve a seat to watch the big games on multiple massive TV sets and monitors, and operators compensate them with free play offers in the casino, he said.
Besides attracting a new kind of gambler, sports betting also has pushed gaming action on days when casinos are traditionally slow.
“In the fall, you’ve got college football on Saturdays and the NFL on Sundays, Sunday nights, Mondays and now Thursdays,” Thurmes said. “During college bowl season, there’s a game on every night for weeks at a time.”
As a result, the Deadwood tourism weekend that traditionally ran from Friday night to Sunday morning can extend another day or two from sports wagering opportunities on Sundays and Mondays.
Furthermore, sports betting has energized food, beverage and hotel spending at casinos that house sports books, creating a space where patrons can place a bet and then spend as much as three hours watching their game of interest, Thurmes said.
“One of the big things we’ve seen is all the residual revenue that we’re getting from sports betting,” Thurmes said. “We see stronger food and beverage spending, and sports betting can carry over into slots or table game play.”
The launch of sports betting coincides with an overall increase in visitation and spending in Deadwood in the past couple years, said Amanda Kille, marketing director for the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.
As Deadwood hotel occupancy and tourism spending both rose in 2023, the city also saw a roughly 2% increase in local foot traffic as estimated by cellphone monitoring company Placer.ai, Kille said.
“All those increases are tracking and reinforcing each other,” Kille told News Watch in an interview. “Sports betting is another amenity, and that’s always a great thing for Deadwood.”
Thurmes said the next advancements in Deadwood sports betting would likely be an expansion of the types of sports able to wager upon and new ways for bettors to place bets on elements of games even after the events have started.
Michael Shaw, 29, is a Rapid City resident who would visit Deadwood once a year but who now makes the 40-minute drive as many as five times a month to place bets on sporting events. He typically makes long-shot, multiple game parlays that can deliver a rare but tasty payoff of up to $1,000 on a $20 bet.
Sports betting is attractive because he’s a fan of watching sports on TV and likes the slower pace of wagering on it.
“I’ve always been a big sports guy and it’s more fun to watch the games this way,” Shaw told News Watch. “Plus, you can lose your money in roulette in 10 seconds and with this, your bet takes two hours or more to come in.”
Shaw said he would like South Dakota to approve sports betting on the internet or by phone so he doesn’t have to travel to Deadwood to place a wager. Two prior legislative attempts to expand sports betting to kiosks in licensed bars and restaurants outside Deadwood failed in recent years, said Matt Krogman, a lobbyist for the South Dakota Licensed Beverage Dealers and Gaming Association. The remote kiosks would have allowed sports betting through existing gambling operations at Deadwood casinos, Krogman said.
Sports betting kiosks in areas of East River, for example, would keep gaming and tax revenues in the state rather than allow them to go to Iowa from sports bets placed at the Grand Falls Casino and Golf Resort just east of Sioux Falls or the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa, he said.
Shaw, meanwhile, said he’ll continue to drive to Deadwood to place his long-shot bets, even though he’d like to do so from his home or elsewhere in Rapid City.
“I get what they’re trying to do, but it would be nice to allow mobile betting outside Deadwood,” Shaw said. “It would make it a lot more convenient for people, that’s for sure.”
— This article was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a non-profit journalism organization located online at sdnewswatch.org.
Copyright 2024 KSFY. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
South Dakota Governor signs trucker English proficiency and CDL bills to ‘deliver Dalilah’s Law’
This week, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed two bills imposing stricter language and citizenship requirements on commercial driver license (CDL) holders.
On March 10, 2026, Rhoden signed the following two bills into law in an effort to strengthen standards for CDL holders in South Dakota:
- SB 164, which requires CDL holders to be proficient in the English language
- SB 180, which modifies requirements regarding non-domiciled CDLs
Rhoden said in a news release announcing the signing of the bills into law that South Dakota has now satisfied President Trump’s call for states to pass “Dalilah’s Law,” which would “increase standards for English proficiency and prohibit states from issuing CDLs to undocumented immigrants.”
Trump pushed for “Dalilah’s Law” during his State of the Union address in February.
“These bills are commonsense steps to improve public safety by guaranteeing that truckers can read our road signs and making sure that only citizens and legal immigrants hold CDLs. South Dakota will continue to prioritize strong licensing standards so all drivers are traveling safely and responsibly,” Rhoden said.
Rhoden also said that the state has partnered with federal immigration authorities for an enforcement detail.
“The [South Dakota] Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently conducted an enforcement operation alongside the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. DPS also reviewed its process for non-domiciled CDLs to ensure illegal immigrants are not operating with or receiving CDLs in South Dakota,” Rhoden said.
Dalilah’s Law was named for Dalilah Coleman, a child who was injured in a June 20, 2024, crash in California involving Partap Singh, who was driving a semi truck. Officials said that Singh was an Indian national present in the U.S. illegally. He was later taken into U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
Much action has already been taken at a federal level over the past year to tighten citizenship requirements for obtaining a non-domiciled CDL and to increase English Language Proficiency enforcement for truck drivers.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 10 drawing
16-21-30-35-65, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 10 drawing
03-27-43-45-49, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
South Dakota
Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package
PIERRE — Two pieces of a property tax reduction package prepared by South Dakota’s legislative leadership and the executive branch are moving forward, but one bill failed during votes on Monday as lawmakers began the final week of the annual legislative session.
The House of Representatives voted
42-27
in support of
Senate Bill 245
, which would pull future revenue from a scheduled sales tax increase from 4.2% to 4.5% next year into a relief fund for homeowner property taxes, and use nearly $56 million in one-time money to seed the fund before the sales tax increase.
The Senate supported
House Bill 1323
, which would reduce the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on a local government’s decision to levy property taxes beyond limits set by the state. The Senate passed the bill 19-15.
Both bills have to return to the opposite chamber for consideration of amendments.
The Senate rejected
House Bill 1253
, which would cap annual assessment growth for owner-occupied homes and commercial properties at 5% annually and reset assessments back to market value every five years. The bill failed with a 9-24 vote.
The bills are part of a broader,
five-bill legislative package
targeted at property tax relief.
Another bill
in the package, which would allow counties to implement a half-percent sales tax with proceeds going to homeowner property tax credits, is awaiting the governor’s signature after he proposed it and it received both chambers’ approval.
The legislative budget committee is scheduled to consider a fifth piece of legislation in the package on Tuesday.
The bill
would reduce maximum property tax levies for school districts.
Sales tax bill overcomes concerns about future budget needs
SB 245 would capture revenue from the impending sales tax increase to deposit into a “homeowner property tax reduction fund” meant to reduce property taxes levied by school districts. The Legislature and then-Gov. Kristi Noem reduced the state sales tax rate three years ago but scheduled the reduction to sunset in 2027.
House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, told lawmakers on Monday that the bill would be an “investment in the people,” because it’ll give South Dakota homeowners more money to spend as they choose. Hansen, the bill’s sponsor and a candidate for governor, said that would lead to more spending and, therefore, more sales tax revenue. The state relies on sales taxes, while counties and schools rely on property taxes, and cities receive revenue from property taxes and sales taxes.
Some opponents said the legislation would favor wealthier, property-owning South Dakotans rather than lower-income renters.
(Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, worried that automatically diverting future state revenue to reduce homeowner property taxes would come at the cost of other priorities, such as annual funding increases for state employees, Medicaid providers and public schools — which are known as the “big three” budget priorities. Lawmakers often
aim
to increase funding for the groups by 3% or inflation, whichever is less. An inflationary increase this legislative session would be 2.5%, according to the state Department of Education.
“We are just clawing to get 1.4% for the big three,” Weisgram said. “I don’t think any of us are proud of that.”
Hansen said the decision “is not an either-or” situation.
“We can help the property taxpayers in the state who desperately, desperately need it,” Hansen said, “and then I trust fully that this state is going to continue to grow and that we are going to be able to meet the needs of our core obligations of this state.”
The bill was introduced as an amendment to placeholder legislation last week, and it will head to the Senate for approval. The Senate narrowly rejected a
similar proposal
earlier this legislative session.
Senate approves lower signature threshold to force election on excess taxes
The version of House Bill 1323 that passed the Senate would set the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on an excess tax levy (often called an “opt-out”) for a local government at 2,500 or 5% of registered voters within its jurisdiction, whichever is less. The current threshold to refer decisions by a local government is 5% of registered voters in the district, without a 2,500 signature cap.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, said it will still be difficult to refer decisions by a local government to voters.
“You’re talking dozens and dozens of volunteers, weeks of organized effort,” Howard said. “There’s not a lot of people that have been through that and can even organize that kind of effort. So it’s not a trivial bar.”
Because the bill was amended since it last appeared in the House, it’ll now go to the House for approval.
HB 1253 intended to provide South Dakota homeowners and commercial property owners predictable increases in their property assessments, which factor into property taxes they pay, over five year periods.
But opponents said the change would shift the property tax burden onto farmers and ranchers and surprise homeowners every five years when assessments would be re-based on market value, which could lead to double-digit increases in assessments.
This story was originally published on
SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.
______________________________________________________
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