Hawaii Sports Betting Bill Passes State House, Senate Odds of Passage Remain Long
Posted on: March 5, 2025, 10:58h.
Last updated on: April 2, 2025, 10:25h.
- A bill in Hawaii to legalize sports betting passed the state House
- Sports betting’s odds, however, remain long in Hawaii
- Hawaii has no forms of legal gaming
On Tuesday, Hawaii sports betting legislation cleared the State Legislature’s lower chamber.
With a 35-15 vote, House Bill 1308 became the first piece of gaming legislation to clear a chamber of the Hawaii Legislature in decades. Hawaii’s House of Representatives forwarded the measure that would authorize up to four online sportsbooks.
Bill sponsor Rep. Dan Holt (D-Honolulu), who filed the statute with Reps. Darius Kila (D-Honokai Hale) and Chris Todd (D-Hilo), reasoned that Hawaii’s ban on sports gambling isn’t working, as many consumers are betting online through offshore, illegal gambling websites. Many others use bookies.
[Sports betting’s] just happening through bookies and unsafe offshore websites that don’t have any consumer protections and allow minors to bet. With this legislation, we can join the 38 other states that have created regulated, consumer-protected sports betting markets and create millions in revenue for our state.”
Fiscal projections estimate that the state could reap as much as $20 million a year by allowing online sports betting.
Hawaii Sports Betting Opposition
Hawaii remains among the most restrictive states when it comes to gaming. On the islands, there are no commercial or tribal casinos, lottery games, parimutuel wagering, sports betting, fantasy sports, or even charitable games. Only Utah is as restrictive.
House lawmakers who voted against HB1308 expressed concerns about gambling addictions, which could lead to financial problems, broken marriages, and other societal costs.
“There are a lot of bad things that follow [gaming authorization],” opined Rep. David Alcos (R-Ewa). “From sex trafficking to stealing to all kinds of bad things. Do you want to see Hawaii be like Las Vegas?”
Rep. Andrew Garrett (D-Manoa) said a friend of his who had a severe gambling problem ended up bankrupt.
“I wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone,” Garrett said.
Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto (D-Honolulu), the first transgender lawmaker in Hawaii’s history, pushed back on the online sports betting bill because it would primarily benefit the operators. She reasoned that illegal, underground gambling rings might actually be more beneficial.
Local game rooms and chicken fights, which I do not support, contribute to a circular economy because that money is staying within the community,” Iwamoto said.
Nadine Ando, director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, also voiced opposition to the bill because it wouldn’t provide enough funding for her agency to properly regulate online sportsbooks.
Will Senate Say ‘Aloha’ to Sports Betting?
With HB1308 finding enough support in the House, it’s up to the Senate to decide whether a sports gambling bill reaches Gov. Josh Green’s (D) desk. Unfortunately for those who want legal sports betting, Senate Bill 1569, the upper chamber’s companion bill, has stalled.
SB1569 cleared the Senate Economic Development and Technology Committee in February. Both the Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means committees have deferred the gaming bill.
“Deferring a bill may allow the committee more time to consider it, gain consensus, or prepare an amended draft for the future vote by the committee. If a bill is deferred, the committee must bring the bill back for public decision-making to pass it. If not, the bill simply stays in that committee,” the Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau explained.
Hawaii’s 2025 legislative session runs through May 2.
No comments yet