Hawaiian legislators have used the new session to push forward with a number of bills designed to seek and legalize gambling
With Hawaii one of the few remaining holdouts in the United States not to allow any form of gambling, some lawmakers have been increasingly willing to push for the legalization of potentially lucrative verticals such as iGaming and sports betting.
Most of the opposition has come from their local colleagues who have expressed uneasiness over how such legislation may impact residents, and the potential ills that may proliferate in local communities.
Hawaii Lawmakers File Multiple Bills to Pursue Gambling Legalization
Despite these qualms, several bills seeking to establish sports betting in the state were filed with the state legislature this Wednesday. The first among them is SB1572 which will attempt to bring a “legal, safe, and regulated framework for sports wagering.”
The bill will achieve this and more through the establishment of a dedicated regulator – the State Sports Wagering Commission, which will work under the purview of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT).
At the same time, the bill will also want to push against illegal gambling activities while promoting consumer protection and responsible play. The ultimate goal is to prop up the public purse and spend on important initiatives such as housing, infrastructure, and education, with housing one of the hardest pressing issues of the day in the 50th state.
HB1308 and a twin bill filed in the senate, SB1569, seek to empower the DBEDT as the regulatory body to oversee the arrival of sports betting. Besides these two bills, there is also SB1507 which wants to set up the Lottery and Gaming Corporation which will then seek to authorize lottery, poker, and casino games.
Efforts to seduce lawmakers with the promise of robust public funds boosts have fallen flat in Hawaii with gambling being a hot-button issue for several years now. A big effort was made in 2021, in the wake of the pandemic, with lawmakers failing to agree on a working version of the proposed draft law at the time.
Hawaii’s Opposition to Gambling Is Entrenched and Rooted in Many Fears
More efforts followed in 2023, seeking to authorize sports betting and poker in local establishments, but these efforts fell through. Most of the proponents of gambling in Hawaii have argued that gambling is already happening and that people are suffering from illegal venues.
At the same time, opponents have cautioned against legalizing and enabling “mainland” companies, such as DraftKings and FanDuel to come in and siphon off money from the state. With a salvo of several new bills, Hawaii is going to try and regulate its gambling for yet another year. Whether it will succeed is another matter.
