Hawaii online sports betting bill progresses despite opposition
Hawaii is one of two US states with no legal gambling of any kind, but a bill to legalize online sports betting in the state cleared another hurdle this week.
The Hawaii House Economic Development and Technology Committee voted 4-3 to move HB 2570 out of committee, despite 41 of the 52 public comments submitted opposing it. According to CBS Sports, the deciding vote in favor of the bill was given with reservations.
Lawmakers also amended the bill to delay its effective date to July 1, 3000, in a symbolic move to signal that the issue is far from settled. In reality, if the bill were passed, sports betting would launch within 180 days of its enactment.
HB 2570 proposes at least six online licenses, a 15% tax on adjusted gross revenue, and a US$500,000 licensing fee for operators. Oversight would be under the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.
Opponents, including the Department of the Attorney General and Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm, cited gambling addiction and integrity concerns in their remarks, while supporters, including the Sports Betting Alliance, said that residents already wagered hundreds of millions annually through illegal or offshore betting sites.
The bill still has a long way to go before becoming law, and must pass through multiple committee stages, full House and Senate votes, and approval by the state Governor Josh Green.
Charlotte Capewell brings her passion for storytelling and expertise in writing, researching, and the gambling industry to every article she writes. Her specialties include the US gambling industry, regulator legislation, igaming, and more.
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The Backstory
How Hawaii’s gambling debate reached this point
Hawaii’s latest push to legalize online sports betting lands in a state with one of the nation’s strictest gambling prohibitions and a history of false starts. The Legislature has cycled through bursts of momentum and setbacks, often within the same session, as lawmakers weigh new revenue against social costs and law enforcement risks. The current committee action follows a previous campaign centered on House Bill 1308, which moved further than any recent effort yet ultimately stalled before a key deadline.
Early House gains, fast pushback
The House laid the groundwork last year when it voted to send an online wagering plan to the Senate. After weeks of testimony that split residents, industry players and state agencies, House Bill 1308 cleared the chamber 35-15, signaling a potential breakthrough in one of two states that ban gambling outright. The proposal outlined at least four mobile operators, a low-double-digit tax and a regulatory structure fit for a state with no casinos.
That early momentum met organized opposition. The Department of the Attorney General cautioned about integrity risks and crime. Advocacy groups argued that the revenue case was overstated and that legalization could normalize 24/7 wagering through smartphones. Even some backers of the bill conceded that illegal betting already occurs in Hawaii, a point used by both sides: supporters said regulation would bring activity into the open, while critics warned that formal markets could expand participation and harm.
Senate revisions and the math problem
The measure pressed on. Senate panels moved the bill along after additional hearings that sharpened the fiscal debate. Two Senate committees advanced HB 1308 with testimony that framed the core tradeoffs: supporters argued regulated sportsbooks could generate new revenue and consumer protections; opponents questioned whether tax collections would meet projections once regulators accounted for market competition and operator costs. Industry representatives urged lawmakers to calibrate tax rates and fees so legal books could undercut offshore sites.
As amendments accumulated, the Senate signaled stronger backing. In a notable milestone, senators approved an online betting and daily fantasy package 15-10, sending the bill back to the House to reconcile changes. That vote hinted at a compromise path before the session's end, with a prospective launch tied to mid-2025 and a requirement to open the market by year-end. The mobile-only model mirrored approaches in other noncasino states, which supporters said would streamline licensing while limiting physical expansion.
The sprint that came up short
The endgame exposed unresolved differences. Behind closed doors, negotiators wrestled with core mechanics — operator fees, the exact tax rate and who would police the market. Those pieces proved decisive. HB 1308 missed an April 26 deadline, halting the push after one of the deepest runs for gambling legislation in recent Hawaii history.
The fallout underscored the political math. Opponents amplified concerns about addiction, enforcement and a cultural fit for a state with long-standing prohibitions. Backers sought to reframe the issue as consumer protection and budget diversification in a high-cost economy, noting that residents already bet through offshore apps with no state oversight. The impasse produced one concrete next step: lawmakers called for a task force of law enforcement, government, tourism and industry voices to study a regulatory framework, the potential tax base and guardrails to limit harm.
The reset did not end the broader conversation. The session’s trajectory — substantial committee progress, a full Senate vote, then a late collapse — suggests a workable blueprint exists if fiscal and governance details can be nailed down. It also set expectations for any new vehicle that resembles HB 1308: a narrow, mobile-only market; a midrange tax that can compete with offshore operators; and a clearer plan for addiction treatment and consumer education.
A parallel fight over prediction markets
While sports betting captured attention, lawmakers also targeted the rapid rise of prediction markets, where users trade contracts tied to real-world events. That parallel battle showed how quickly digital wagering products can test Hawaii’s legal lines. A House chair introduced a bill to ban event-contract trading after a flurry of wagers tied to the governor’s State of the State address drew scrutiny. The push framed prediction markets as exploiting a loophole by branding wagers as tradable contracts rather than bets.
The campaign leaned on concerns about manipulation and jurisdiction gaps, given platforms that let users buy and sell outcomes on politics, disasters and sports. Coverage in West Hawaii Today detailed the lawmaker’s case and the state’s unease with fast-growing platforms, with interest allegedly spiking around the governor’s speech. For context on that debate, see West Hawaii Today’s report on the proposed ban of prediction market wagering.
The prediction market bill traveled on a track separate from sports betting, but the two efforts intersect on policy: they test how far Hawaii is willing to go in policing digital speculation and whether new products should be treated as gambling under state law. The parallel action also signaled that any regulated sports market would need clear guardrails to prevent spillover into adjacent products that blur lines between investing and wagering.
What the latest vote signals
The current committee action on sports betting reprises a familiar pattern: incremental movement, sharp objections and tactical amendments that keep the door ajar without committing the state to a launch. The path that HB 1308 took — House passage, Senate advances, a Senate floor win and then a deadline miss — lays out the likely road map for any new bill. Expect revenue modeling to face closer scrutiny, with comparisons to smaller markets where tax receipts underperformed early forecasts. Expect, too, a tighter focus on enforcement infrastructure and dedicated funding for problem gambling programs.
Hawaii’s posture remains cautious but fluid. A mobile-only framework with a modest operator count is politically viable if lawmakers can lock in a tax and fee structure that both deters offshore play and funds oversight. The task force findings and the fate of any anti–prediction market legislation will shape the next draft. If negotiations settle the economics and enforcement questions that tripped up HB 1308, the state could move from symbolic delays to a concrete launch timeline. If not, the cycle of near-misses is likely to continue — with unregulated betting carrying on in the background.
