
House Bill 1308 and Senate Bill 1569 have been introduced in the Hawaii Legislature, which will legalize sports betting if passed and signed into law.
Sports betting in Hawaii has been a topic of interest over the past two years as illegal gambling operations have run rampant in the state. Despite the continued effort for locally regulated sportsbooks, there is still plenty of doubt regarding any progress for these two latest bills.
If passed, these bills would permit the state to license four domestic online sportsbook operators. The Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism would be in charge of issuing these licenses and any additional governance required.
The bills carry with them an effective date of June 1, 2025. This is an incredibly aggressive timeline, as other legal sports betting states have taken months, and even years, to debut local sports betting venues.
A tax rate of 10% will be imposed on all revenues collected by these Hawaii sportsbooks. This bill has no language for in-person sports betting locations or kiosks.
A Competing Sports Betting Bill
Another bill that seems to have little support and no real shot at passage is Senator Kim Decoite’s SB 1572. This bill would allow only three online sports betting licenses to be granted and would establish the Hawaii State Sports Wagering Commission as the governing body.
SB 1572 specifically allows wagering on local college teams and also includes a provision for NCAA prop bets, something that other states have banned due to the influence they could have on the outcome of games.
Decoite’s bill would charge a licensing fee of $250,000 for local books, and the tax rate would be 15%, significantly higher than the 10% proposed by HB 1308 and SB 1569.
Is iGaming And Lottery Coming Soon To HI?
Hawaii state Senator Ron Kouchi has introduced SB 1507, a bill that will legalize online casino gambling and a state lottery. The language includes the creation of the Hawaii Lottery and Gaming Corporation Lottery, which, in addition to regulatory duties, would be charged with implementing a Lottery and Gaming Special Fund intended to ensure that the tax collections would be directed toward state initiatives.
Another bill, SB 373, is already in committee and is intended to usher in daily fantasy sports (DFS).
Based on prior legislative sessions, none of these gambling bills are expected to pass. There are no bordering states that threaten to take tax dollars from HI, but there are offshore sportsbooks that accept players from the region.
The threat of international gambling sites has not moved the needle in HI thus far.