At least two bills that would legalize some form of sports wagering in Hawaii remain alive this legislative session.
House Bill 1308 and Senate Bill 1569 are companion measures, although both have been amended in committee hearings.
The legislation, if enacted into law, would allow for the regulation of sports wagering by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. It would also establish licensing requirements for sports wagering operators and sports wagering suppliers.
In addition, the bills specify that legal sports wagering and fantasy sports contests shall not be considered contests of chance or gambling.
Both measures are scheduled for their final committee hearings this week in their respective chambers, reaching a point in the process beyond where most gambling-related legislation has gone bust in recent years.
HB 1308, introduced by Rep. Daniel Holt (D-Oahu) with Rep. Chris Todd (D-Hilo) as a co-sponsor, is scheduled for a 10 a.m. hearing today in the House Finance Committee.
SB 1569 — introduced by Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D-Maui, Molokai and Lanai), with Sens. Tim Richards (D-Kohala) and Joy San Buenaventura (D-Puna) as co-sponsors — is scheduled for a joint session 10 a.m. Wednesday of the Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means committees.
Written testimony in favor of the measures have been submitted by labor unions including the Iron Workers Hawaii Stabilization Fund 625, the Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council, the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association Local 630, online sports wagering services DraftKings and BetMGM, and the trade organization Sports Betting Alliance.
The Iron Workers fund cited a 2024 survey that “reported an alarming 180,000 residents are currently considering relocating elsewhere for financial relief.”
“This significant exodus has detrimentally impacted our workforce and significantly impacting struggling working families in Hawaii,” wrote T. George Paris, the fund’s managing director.
“We believe the legalization of sports wagering would diversify our economy, contributing to long-term economic stability through the generation of new tax revenue,” Paris continued. “This new income stream could enable the state to address the rising cost of living, fund critical services such as education, health care, and infrastructure, and create new job opportunities. It is imperative that we explore innovative solutions to retain our local residents, preserving our cultural identity, as many Native Hawaiians and locals have relocated or are seriously considering relocation.”
Submitting testimony in opposition are the state Office of the Attorney General, the Honolulu Police Department and Boyd Gaming, which operates 28 casinos in 11 states, and also owns and operates Vacations Hawaii, which — in its words — “has served over 1.5 million Hawaii residents with convenient and affordable direct flights to Las Vegas since 1996.”
According to testimony submitted by the state’s largest police department: “Numerous studies have confirmed that gambling, including sports wagering, causes problems such as bankruptcy, theft, embezzlement, suicide, child abuse and neglect, divorce, incarceration and homelessness.
”Studies have also demonstrated that gambling schemes are essentially regressive taxes on low-income people, those who can least afford to participate. The financial burden associated with these problems will far outweigh any benefit realized in the name of community betterment.”
Boyd, which operates California Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, which caters directly to kamaaina, said that while sports wagering “is an important component of an overall gaming policy framework, taken alone it is not a significant source of tax revenue and creates few jobs.”
“Many other states in comparable sized markets to Hawaii that have passed isolated sports wagering legislation have been disappointed in the outcome — tax revenues from online sports wagering are often less than anticipated, and the revenues are usually not sufficient to fund or sustain regulatory and enforcement oversight and a responsible gaming infrastructure, crucial components of any gaming framework,” the gaming giant testified.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
