Hawaii sports betting bills dead in the water
Controversial legislation to allow sports betting to the Aloha State fail at final hurdle
A pair of bills aimed at facilitating the expansion of online gambling in Hawaii have failed to gain sufficient momentum to advance during the current Aloha State legislative session.
House Bills 1815 and 1973 failed to be passed to committee stage in time for a key legislative deadline last week, under which all bills due for consideration should be passed to final committee stage.
House Bill 1815, introduced by Hawaii state Representative John Mizuno, would have allowed for the creation of a state regulator for online gambling.
Revenues generated from the conduct of sports wagering would have been funnelled into a ‘special fund’, with all monies not spent on regulation activities put back into Hawaii’s state coffers.
Controversially, this Bill would have seen the implementation of a 55% tax rate on sports betting operations. The Companion House Bill sets out the standards for licensing of operators and suppliers.
House Bill 1815 would have seen an accelerated timetable imposed on the regulatory process, with a seven-member board required to adopt governance regulations for the new market and to begin the licensing process within 180-days of the passage of legislation.
House Bill 1820, which would have built a casino in Waikiki, was also among those pro-gambling efforts to fall by the wayside.
The Bills join an ever-growing list of legislative dead ends for Hawaiian gambling efforts which have failed to pass through Hawaii’s senate and house.
In comments reported by the Honolulu Civil Beat, Representative Mizuno summarized the situation:
“The majority of people in the Legislature do not feel gambling is the way to help Hawaii go forward,” Mizuno said.
Senate Bill 2608 and House Bill 1962, which would have seen the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands given $500,000 to conduct a study into gaming, both failed to pass through committee stage earlier this month.
House Bill 2004, which would have allowed DFS sites like DraftKings and FanDuel to operate in Hawaii, has also previously failed to pass hearings in the House Economic Development Committee.
Hawaii is home to just 1.4 million residents, making it one of the smallest states in the US.
It is just one of two US states, the other being Utah, to not operate gambling in any form, with the state’s Democrat-majority senate opposing previous attempts to introduce enabling legislation.