Sports Betting In Hawaii
- Hawaii lawmakers present new bills to launch legal sports betting and daily fantasy sports (DFS) in Hawaii.
- One bill would launch a sports betting taskforce.
- Hawaii has historically been against gambling of all kinds.
Of all the states in the US, sports betting and gambling laws in Hawaii are some of the most strict. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) being overturned on May 14, 2018, allowing. Hawaii is looking to combat a budget deficit with multiple gaming bills, including two that specifically legalize HI sports betting. Mississippi sports betting will go another year without statewide mobile as three bills failed to get a committee vote. There is a slew of bills looking to legalize sports betting in Missouri, with one self. Get the latest odds, pointspreads, betting sites on all major sports including NFL football, college football, NBA basketball, college basketball, MLB baseball, NHL hockey and much more! In the sports betting arena information is power and SportsInsider.com provides all of the ‘intel’ you need to be a winner.
HONOLULU – Lawmakers in Hawaii have yet again presented some sports betting bills to the state’s legislature with hopes to launch a domestic betting market.
Gambling in every shape and form is prohibited by the state of Hawaii's legal code. This means no sports betting, no casino-style games, no public poker rooms, no pari-mutuel horse racing wagering, etc. Sports betting was included in a number of new gambling bills that were introduced in the early part of 2021. At this time, there are no legal forms of gambling in Hawaii, but a huge budget deficit has.
One bill would see a newly found sports betting task force that would oversee the legal sports betting operations in the state. Since Hawaii has no legal gambling laws in its legislation, there is no Gaming Board or Lottery Commission in the state.
Lawmakers have also presented a bill to bring daily fantasy sports or DFS to the state, exempting the practice from being considered a form of gambling.
Hawaii Sports Betting Bills
The three bills are all bringing different things to the table and the two Hawaii sports betting bills have unique approaches for how to launch the new market domestically.
The first bill, SB 595 will see the implementation of a newly founded sports betting task force that would be in charge of all legal sports betting operations. This includes licensing agreements with regulated books and determining taxes and fees.
This bill would require an amendment to the Hawaii gambling laws currently in place. Hawaii outlaws all regulated gambling operations currently, including sports betting.
HB 736 is attempting to alter how sports betting is defined in the state’s gambling laws altogether. The goal of this bill is to exclude digital sports betting under the current gambling laws and to deal with it as a separate entity.
Sports Betting In Hawaii Today
Should this bill pass, the online sports betting market would then be viewed not as under gambling laws, but under a separate sports betting law for strictly online and mobile betting.
The final bill that has been presented is the DFS bill HB 850. This bill would allow daily fantasy sports to operate in the Aloha State as it would not be considered gambling under the state’s current gambling laws.
This bill aims to view DFS as a game of skill and not so much a game of chance. Other markets that have DFS operational have similar laws in place.
While these bills have been presented, it does not mean any of them will pass. Hawaii has been adamantly against launching any legal sports betting within its borders.
Is Sports Betting Legal In Hawaii
What could change the state’s tune is the lack of tourism caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Adding a sports betting market could help make up for the lost revenue the state has suffered.
Hawaii will address these bills at a later legislative session date.
Online Sports Betting In Hawaii
News tags: David Ige Department of Hawaiian Homelands Hawaii Hawaii Convention Center HB 736 HB 850 Honolulu Legislative SB 595 sports betting
Coming from a background in narrative-based writing, Giovanni strives to write stories that will keep the reader engaged. Although he does pride himself in being accurate, how the story is told is also very important to him. When he’s not keeping readers up to date on sports betting laws and legislation, you can find him writing and recording music, playing videogames, or engaged in heated sports debates with his friends.