Hawaii Governor Josh Green (D) states he will not oppose the authorization of online sports betting and/or casino gambling in the state. Certainly, the Hawaii Legislature needs to reach an agreement on a bill to permit such gambling.
Earlier this year, both the Hawaii Senate and House of Representatives approved House Bill 1308. Nonetheless, the sports betting legislation was modified in both chambers during deliberation.
When the Senate returned the revised bill permitting Hawaiians to place sports bets via their computers and mobile devices, House lawmakers opposed the changes made by the upper chamber, which involved a $250K initial licensing fee and a 10% tax on oddsmakers' gross earnings.
A dedicated conference committee is being established with selected members from the House and Senate who will work to resolve their disputes.
On Tuesday, the Senate designated Sens. Lynn DeCoite (D-Hana), Jarrett Keohokalole (D-Kailua), and Dru Kanuha (D-Kona) as its members of the conference committee. The House has not appointed its representatives for the committee yet.
Governor Will Not Hinder Gaming Legislation
Green, who has previously claimed he’s neutral regarding sports betting and casinos, slightly changed that stance this week. The governor has stated he will not reject gaming legislation.
Green's remarks emerged weeks after he suggested that sports wagering, along with the potential for commercial and/or tribal casinos, could aid in producing state tax income to support the construction of a new football stadium at the University of Hawaii.
Together with the sports betting conference committee, the Hawaii Legislature is considering Senate Bill 891. The Senate bill aims to create a "Gaming Working Group" within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to explore how gaming could enhance the Hawaii economy and assist with infrastructure and various state-supported initiatives.
"Look, as long as there are some safeguards with gambling addiction services and so on, if the Legislature goes to the full way and passes it, I’ll likely let it become law,” Green said. “The world’s changing quite a lot and what people said in our survey was if you spend the revenues in a good place like on Hawaiian Home Lands housing or housing for the workforce, a lot of people supported it.”
Hawaii and Utah are the sole states that prohibit charitable gaming, parimutuel wagering, lotteries, commercial or tribal casinos, racinos, iGaming, or sports betting.
Resistance Persists
Many legislators in the Democratic-run state Legislature are still actively opposing the gaming bills. One of these officials is Rep. Andrew Garrett (D-Manoa), who claims the state shouldn't approve casinos just to finance a college sports stadium.
"That’s not planning,” Garrett said. “When you need a casino to make your stadium pencil out.”
Garrett stated that the casino study bill is not focused on examining the debate surrounding the termination of Hawaii’s long-standing gambling ban but rather on “controlling the result.”
“This isn’t research — it’s a rehearsal,” he declared.
Included in the groups advocating against casinos in Hawaii is Boyd Gaming, the Las Vegas gaming company that serves locals and budget-conscious gamblers who enjoy visiting off-Strip venues. Boyd has depended on Hawaii for support of its casinos and operates the Boyd Vacations Hawaii travel site.
