Hopes of bringing authorized on-line sports activities betting to Hawaii had been dashed as lawmakers didn’t finalize Home Invoice 1308 earlier than the legislative deadline. Regardless of unprecedented progress in shifting the measure by the session, key disagreements prevented its approval, leaving proponents targeted on regrouping for a future try.
Hawaii’s legislative session closes with out sports activities betting legalization:
Negotiations between the Home and Senate finally collapsed over unresolved points equivalent to tax charges, licensing constructions, and who would oversee sportsbook operations. “We put our greatest effort ahead, we obtained it very far this 12 months, this deep into convention, but it surely appears as if we’ve not come to settlement on particulars: the tax quantity who would function, would home the operation of the sports activities betting and provides out the license and licensing charges,” mentioned State Rep. Daniel Holt.
State Rep. Greggor Ilagan echoed the sentiment, acknowledging throughout a joint committee listening to, “We’ve been engaged on [HB 1308], and at this second, it’s very arduous to get a compromise, and at this level we’ve a Home and Senate disagreement.”
The missed settlement means HB 1308 is not going to proceed to a remaining vote earlier than Hawaii’s legislative session ends on Could 2.
Whereas the invoice’s failure upset supporters, many emphasised that important groundwork had been laid for future legalization efforts. A working group composed of regulation enforcement, tourism, authorities, and business specialists will proceed evaluating the potential framework for playing regulation.
“There’s by no means been a invoice that went this far in gaming,” famous Cliff Laboy, a lobbyist for T. George Paris and the Hawaii Ironworkers Stabilization Fund. Laboy added, “Get the duty drive, go on the market, discover out, research, do your due diligence, come again, return to the desk and determine which means you wish to go. However Hawaii wants one thing like this.”
Had the invoice succeeded, Hawaii would have develop into the fortieth U.S. state to legalize cell sports activities betting and the thirty second to permit it statewide. Governor Josh Inexperienced had signaled his assist, saying earlier, “Look, so long as there’s some safeguards with playing habit companies and so forth, if the Legislature goes the complete means and passes it, I’ll doubtless let it develop into regulation.”
HB 1308 initially proposed a ten% tax fee on gross gaming revenues and a $250,000 licensing payment, however these monetary specifics had been eliminated within the Home model, including to the legislative friction.
Opposition voices cite dangers of growth:
Robust opposition got here from a number of corners, together with Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, Prosecutor Steve Alm, and Police Chief Arthur Logan, who warned about potential social harms in a joint assertion: “On-line sports activities betting isn’t innocent leisure — it’s a high-tech pipeline to habit and monetary break,” Alm said.
Critics like Les Bernal, Nationwide Director of Cease Predatory Playing, praised the legislature’s choice. “The legislature in Hawaii stood up on behalf of the folks of Hawaii and mentioned we’re going to say no the greed of outdoor playing pursuits,” Bernal mentioned, calling Hawaii “a mannequin for the remainder of the nation.”
Les Bernal additional identified that with out legalized playing, residents profit from “much less taxes” and “extra financial alternative,” citing different states’ struggles with the social penalties of on-line playing.
In response to Hawaii Information Now, considerations over elevated entry to playing had been additionally voiced by state Rep. and minority chief Lauren Matsumoto, who mentioned, “After getting that toehold, that results in the foothold that would result in casinos right here in Hawaii so I believe it’s essential for us to tread cautiously as a result of when you open that up so there’s no taking it again.”
Moreover, Daybreak O’Brien, an Aloha Ambassador working in colleges, shared her reservations, saying, “Those that got here out had been passionate, each for and towards. I’m clearly towards, I work in many faculties representing the select emotional social aloha studying program, and I’ve seen the ravaging results of playing.”
Looking forward to 2026:
Supporters intend to proceed working by the problems that derailed HB 1308. Holt remarked, “It’s what it’s, and we simply set to work more durable subsequent 12 months, attempt to reply the questions that the remainder of the members and the general public has and see if we are able to seize this tax income that we a lot want for our state.”
The Sports activities Betting Alliance estimates that Hawaii residents already wager about $300 million yearly through offshore websites and unlawful bookmakers. Advocates argue that regulating the exercise may redirect this movement into official channels whereas making a devoted Downside Playing Prevention and Therapy Particular Fund underneath the Division of Well being.
With the 2024 effort falling quick, many anticipate that the push to legalize on-line sports activities betting — and presumably fantasy sports activities — will return with renewed vitality within the 2026 legislative session.
