Gov. Green gave signs that he would approve any bill to bring legal sports betting to Hawaii, as long as it has proper safeguards in place.
Green commented, “Look, as long as there’s 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.”
The House approved bill HB1308, which proposes to make sports betting legal in the Aloha State. It was then passed in the Senate with amendments. But the House voted to disagree with those amendments.
The amendments included reinstating a tax rate of 10% and an operator license fee of $250,000. These were part of Rep. Daniel Holt’s original proposal but had been removed during discussions in the House.
Lawmakers face a looming deadline of May 1st to pass legislation during this session. Green’s comments suggest that if they can agree on the tax figures, then he will sign off and bring the proposal into law.
Legal sports betting and casinos on the table
The House also debated legalizing casinos this week. As well as advocating for legal sports betting, Holt believes the state could reap big benefits from having casinos.
He commented that with casinos, “It’s possible to increase our job count by 6,000 jobs and a benefit of $250 million plus to our economy.”
Gov. Green also said that he believes public opposition to casinos is softening. The lure of a tax windfall could sway opponents, according to a survey.
He commented, “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 is one of only two states with no legal forms of gambling.
Hawaiians gambling on unregulated sites
Holt commented that he understands Hawaiians are already gambling in high numbers, despite its illegal status.
“The risk is already out there,” Holt said. “People already have access with their phones, and we’re just putting it into a legal market. Currently, with the illegal market, there are other illegal things that go along with it. The odds are different. Your odds of winning may be less.
“So, at least if we put it into a legal regulated market, the consumer has more of a fair shot to have a chance at winning. Also, we would have education to let people know that this is not a career choice. This is a form of entertainment.”
The American Gaming Association estimated Hawaiians bet over $300 million on unregulated gambling last year. Residents can access alternative platforms such as crypto betting sites, sweepstakes, and prediction markets.
Lawmakers now face a race against the May 1st deadline to get any legislation passed to bring legal sports betting. Otherwise, Hawaiians will have to continue betting through alternative platforms.
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