A pair of companion bills in the House and Senate have advanced from their respective committees, but this is simply the first step in a long legislative journey that could see mobile sports betting come to the Aloha State.
Committees Approve
There are several gaming bills in Hawaii’s legislative pipeline, but two of the most prominent are Representative Daniel Holt’s HB 1308 and Senator Lynn Decoite’s SB 1569, both of which would legalize statewide sports betting.
Holt’s bill won unanimous support from the House Committee on Economic Development and Technology by a vote of 6-0, with one abstaining on January 31st. Meanwhile, Decoite’s bill passed through the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee four days later by a 5-0 vote.
The bills vary slightly, but they would establish regulatory oversight by the state Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, effective July 1, 2025. Holt’s bill seeks a 10% tax on sportsbooks’ revenues, and a minimum of four online sports betting platforms would be allowed to operate in the state, as well as regulating fantasy sports.
Decoite’s bill does not include a provision for fantasy sports, nor does it articulate a tax rate levied on sports betting revenues. However, it does stipulate a $250,000 initial licensing fee and a $250,000 annual renewal thereafter. It would also establish the Hawaii State Sports Wagering Commission to govern the industry and allow the use of credit cards to fund accounts, which has been a deal-breaker in other states.
High Stakes, Higher Concerns
Despite the unanimous votes from both committees, several did vote yes with reservations. Among them was the potential for the state’s most financially vulnerable to suffer because of the legislation and develop gambling addictions.
HB 1308’s co-sponsor, Rep. Chris Todd, argued that people “are generally speaking very good at understanding what potential negative outcomes may arise from legalization but very bad at recognizing the current negative outcomes of prohibition.”
Pros & Cons
Despite unanimous passage for both sports betting bills, there is a long road ahead as Hawaii lawmakers have been reticent in the past regarding gambling of any kind. Hawaii is only one of two states without any gambling, and bringing mobile sports betting to the fore would be an unprecedented leap for an island that has previously rebuffed all legislative attempts to do so.
Senator Angus McKelvey, a sponsor of another gaming bill, SB 373, that would regulate fantasy sports under the governance of the state Attorney General, asserted that regulating gaming would allow tax revenue to fund a wide range of projects, including fire recovery from the Lahaina fires in 2023 that destroyed his home, as well as education, infrastructure, and other social services.
“I thought it was a way to bring us up to speed with all the other states of the nation, allow us to tap into unrealized tourist revenue, and provide—especially with the federal government conditioning aid now to all sorts of things—trying to create a way for extra investment or extra monies for the Lahaina rebuild,” McKelvey said.
However, Representative Elijah Pierick echoed many of her colleague’s concerns when she said during a hearing last year, “Numerous studies have confirmed gambling caused problems such as bankruptcy, theft, embezzlement, suicide, child abuse and neglect, divorce, incarceration and homelessness.”
