- An agreement could not be reached to legalize Hawaii online sports betting
- A Senate and House Conference Committee could not come to an agreement on online sports betting
- Issue will likely be taken up in 2026
And aloha means goodbye, at least in the case of Hawaii online sports betting.
A conference committee consisting of House and Senate members could not come to an agreement on a Hawaii online sports betting bill after the legislation passed through both chambers this month. The final day of the Hawaii legislative session is May 2, so the issue is dead for the year.
It’s a disappointing end for a bill that looked like it stood a good chance of being approved, but the differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation proved too much to overcome.
Tax Rate, License Fee Likely at Heart of Disagreement
Both the House and Senate passed versions of Rep. Daniel Holt’s bill, HB 1308, to legalize Hawaii sports betting over the past two months. However, key amendments to the bill led to a required conference committee to iron out the details between the approved versions of the bill.
The bill allowed at least four online sports betting licenses to be awarded to operators in the state. It originally called for the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to regulate Hawaii sports betting, but Director Nadine Ando expressed doubt that her department could do so during an earlier Senate committee meeting this month. The Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement was then tasked to regulate the new form of gaming.
It also called for the legalization of daily fantasy sports competitions in the state.
The likely cause of the disagreement was the dedicated sports betting tax rate and license fee for operators. Holt’s bill originally called for a tax rate of 10% of adjusted gross revenues and license price tags at $250,000, with renewal fees also coming in at $250,000. The House amended the bill to leave the tax rate and license fees blank, as several representatives believed they should be higher.
The Senate then amended the bill to include Holt’s original tax rate and license fee. Both would have been among the lowest in the country if approved.
The conference committee could not come to an agreement and the bill was announced dead by lawmakers on Friday, April 25.
Trying Again in 2026?
Hawaii legislators did say the issue would likely be discussed again in 2026.
However, will the Aloha State find common ground on the issue next year? Several Senators and House of Representative members spoke out during the process during this session, expressing concerns over the new form of gaming.
“I’ve received email messages, as have you, from parents and ex-gamblers writing of the tragic loss of life and homes due to addiction of sports gambling from those who cannot keep their fingers from clicking to bet. It’s easy to say that sports betting is already happening, so why not legalize it? That works only when there are effective regulatory enforcement structures in place, but that’s not the case here,” Sen. Sharon Y. Moriwaki (D-12) said.
Rep. David Alcos III (R-41) said the tax dollars that come in from gambling can be considered “dirty” and the less Hawaii is like than Las Vegas the better.
“I haven’t seen one person who has made a living, or has moved up, because they made so much more money (from sports betting). Most of my friends went the opposite way. This bill to legalize gambling is a question. Do we want this kind of money in the state of Hawaii to fix our roads? Sometimes, taking care of our families more ethically might be the better choice,” he said.
The Hawaii sports betting bill, which aimed to legalize sports betting in the state, has failed to pass through the legislative process. The bill, which was introduced earlier this year, sought to regulate and tax sports betting activities in Hawaii, potentially opening up a new source of revenue for the state.
The bill faced opposition from various groups, including some lawmakers who raised concerns about the potential social and economic impacts of legalizing sports betting. Critics argued that legalizing sports betting could lead to an increase in problem gambling and addiction, as well as potentially attracting organized crime.
Proponents of the bill, on the other hand, argued that legalizing sports betting could help generate much-needed revenue for the state, as well as provide consumer protections for those who already participate in sports betting activities. They also pointed to the success of sports betting in other states, such as Nevada and New Jersey, where it has been legalized and regulated.
Despite efforts to garner support for the bill, it ultimately failed to pass through the legislative process. This means that for now, sports betting will remain illegal in Hawaii, and residents will have to continue to travel to other states if they wish to place bets on sporting events.
It is unclear whether the bill will be reintroduced in the future or if there will be new efforts to legalize sports betting in Hawaii. In the meantime, residents will have to wait and see if any changes are made to the current laws surrounding sports betting in the state.