Hawaii one step closer to legal online sports betting ahead of full Senate vote
HB 1,308 has received the required support of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, despite Attorney General’s opposition to legislation’s progress
Hawaii has taken a significant step closer to legalized online sports betting after HB 1,308 progressed to the full Senate floor.
On Wednesday, April 2, the Senate Ways and Means Committee issued its backing to Representative Daniel Holt’s bill, with amendments, by a vote of 11-2.
One of the amendments included a change in which authority would oversee the regulated market.
Originally, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs was earmarked as the future regulator, but its director, Nadine Ando, expressed her concern over how suitable her department was for the task.
Consequently, the Department of Law Enforcement has since been identified as the replacement.
So far, HB 1,308 has progressed through multiple House committees and was passed by the House floor via a vote of 35-15.
If passed into legislation, the bill would come into effect on July 1 and mandate four online sports betting licenses to operators, before the regulated market would go live on January 1, 2026.
Some of the largest operators in the US, including FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM, all of which are part of the Sports Betting Alliance, have supported Hawaii’s online sports betting legislative efforts
Any operators looking to gain a license, valid for five years at a time, would need to pay a $250,000 licensing fee.
Operators in the market would be subject to a 10% tax rate on gross gambling revenue (GGR), one of the lowest rates of all US states.
All taxation duties would be the responsibility of Hawaii’s Department of Taxation.
The fee and tax rate are details that have been restored to the bill by Senator chair Donovan Dela Cruz, having initially been removed over concerns that both were too low and would not generate enough funds to actually regulate the industry, according to Ando.
Holt, the bill’s author, also conceded at the time of Ando’s claim that the licensing fee and tax rate would need amending. The figures could still be amended before a full Senate vote.
There has been significant opposition to the bill, including from the Attorney General’s office.
Due to amendments made to HB 1,308 in the Senate after its progression from the House, it must now receive the support of both chambers before it can be signed into law.