Hawaii Senate, House Pass Sports Betting Legislation (HB1308)
Hawaii is well-known as one of two states (Utah being the other) without any forms of legalized gambling. That's set to change, however, as a sports betting bill (HB1308) passed the state Senate with a vote of 15 – 10 on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Back on March 4, the bill had been approved by the House in a 35 – 15 vote.
Where Does the Bill Go From Here?
HB1308 now goes back to the House for concurrence. This means that the House and Senate versions of the bill, which differ slightly, have to be reconciled and a single version approved by both chambers. The legislative session ends May 2, so lawmakers have just a couple of weeks to go through this process.
After the Senate and House pass the finalized version of the bill, it will head to the desk of Governor Josh Green (D). He has the options of signing the bill into law, vetoing it, or allowing it to pass into law without his signature.
While Governor Green has not definitively expressed support for legalized sports betting, he has explained that he sees certain benefits to it. He has said:
That is the one way to immediately guarantee you could build an $800 million stadium [a reference to the New Aloha Stadium project], and it would be an attraction…I see a lot of local families going to Las Vegas, and I would love for them to stay here when they can. That’s another consideration.
Governor Josh Green (D)[UPDATE: APRIL 30, 2025]
The Hawaiian sports betting bill, HB1308, is now officially dead for this year. As expected, it went to a conference committee on April 25 to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Unfortunately, lawmakers from the two chambers were unable to agree on a single text. “At this moment, it's very hard to get a compromise, and at this point, we have a House and Senate disagreement,” commented State Representative Greggor Ilagan (D). “What we could do is work on this so we can meet the deadlines and get through a better bill next legislative session.”
More About HB1308
As mentioned earlier, there are some small differences between the House and Senate versions of the Hawaii sports betting bill. Because the Senate version is the one that was most recently passed and likely will serve as a baseline for further discussions between the two houses, we'll examine the contents of this iteration of HB1308.
Licensure
The bill would set up licensed online sports betting and daily fantasy sports under the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement. The Department will be authorized to approve at least four operators for five-year licenses. Each new license or renewal will cost $250,000.
Besides operators, suppliers will also require licensure. Suppliers are those companies that “sell or lease equipment, systems, or services” related to sports wagering. They'll have to pay $10,000 for a five-year license.
Sports Wagering Rules
Anyone above the age of 21 physically located within the borders of Hawaii will be allowed to place sports wagers with licensed online operators. However, there's language in the bill allowing the Department of Law Enforcement to join sports wagering agreements with other states and even internationally. In that case, customers outside the state will be permitted to place bets with Hawaii's licensed providers.
Youth sports are excluded from being wagered upon. This refers to athletic contests where a majority of participants are under 18 years of age and events involving teams from elementary, middle, and high schools. There are exceptions, however, for certain Olympic events and pro sports notwithstanding the ages of the athletes.
Taxes
In addition to the initial application fees, licensees would have to pay a tax of 10% of gross sports wagering receipts. Of this amount, 7% is earmarked for a problem gambling prevention and treatment fund while another 7% will go toward educational purposes.
During House hearings held on the bill, several proponents of legalized sports betting estimated that it could lead to up to $20 million in yearly taxes.
Timeline
According to the text of HB1308, “This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.” The Department of Law Enforcement is directed to set a start date for sports betting within 180 days of this date. That means that, should the bill become law, Hawaii sports betting will become a reality before 2026 starts.
This is a very ambitious target especially given that there's currently no legal gambling within the Aloha State. Therefore, the Department of Law Enforcement would have only half a year to hire the needed personnel, establish regulations, issue licenses, and go live with sports betting.
Reactions
There's broad public support for legalized sports betting with one poll suggesting that two-thirds of respondents approved of it. State Representative Daniel Holt (D) echoed the sentiments of many when he opined:
It’s never a better time than today. We need revenue for our state. Sports betting is pretty prevalently happening around our state currently. So why not regulate it and tax it so we can benefit from the revenues?
However, despite the bill's passage in both legislative chambers by large margins, there are those who are opposed to it. Many of their concerns revolve around problem gaming. State Senator Sharon Moriwaki (D) explained:
I’ve received email messages from parents and ex-gamblers writing of the tragic loss of life and homes due to addiction of sports gambling from those who cannot keep their fingers from clicking to bet.
HB1308 Legislative History
HB1308 was introduced into the Hawaii House by Representatives Daniel Holt, Darius Kila (D), and Chris Todd (D) on Jan. 23, 2025. It passed through three committees between Jan. 31 and Feb. 28 before coming up for a vote on March 4, which it easily passed.
Then heading to the state Senate, the bill also saw three committee hearings, and all three committees recommended passage. It duly came up for a vote April 8, which was successful. The Senate bill included several amendments, which among other things set the license fees and tax rate and designated the Department of Law Enforcement as regulator.
Because of these amendments, the bill as passed by the Senate differed a bit from the House version. The House had the option of accepting the Senate's amendments in toto but instead informed the Senate that it disagreed with the amendments. This means that a committee of lawmakers from both chambers will have to meet to iron out the differences, and then the new bill will have to pass in both the House and Senate again.
Should the bill pass and proceed to the governor, he will have until July 9 to sign it. If he fails to sign by July 9, it will become law automatically without his signature unless he vetoes it. In the event of a veto, the legislature could override it by a 2/3 vote in each chamber, but there would have to be a special session to do so because the legislature will have adjourned by then.
Gambling History of Hawaii
The progress of HB 1308 through the legislature and the broad public support for sports gambling is surprising because Hawaii has traditionally been against all forms of gambling. Ever since 1905, before Hawaii was even a state, a blanket ban on gambling has been in effect. The only crack in this prohibitionary structure came in 1973 when limited social gaming in private places was decriminalized.
There are several explanations bandied about for this reticence to embrace gambling. Hawaii has a strong tradition of Christian missionary activity, and to this day, the state hosts numerous religious organizations, which are mostly opposed to real money gaming. Furthermore, a higher-than-average portion of Hawaii's population are immigrants who tend to hold conservative social values. Finally, many involved in the tourism and hospitality industries feel that gambling would mar Hawaii's image as an ideal family vacation destination.
Perhaps for these reasons, all previous attempts at introducing large-scale gambling to the state have failed. For example, HB1815 and HB1973 – both introduced in 2022 – were attempts to legalize sports betting that ended up going nowhere. HB1962, which called for a study on the feasibility of casino gambling, was also introduced in 2022 but failed to gain much traction. SB 893, which would have licensed brick-and-mortar casinos, was introduced in January 2025 but was deferred indefinitely by committee about a month later.
However, it's a different story when we consider the Hawaiian public at large. Many Hawaiians enjoy gambling as evidenced by the fact that the police in Honolulu alone conduct raids on dozens of illegal gambling establishments every year, but more such facilities pop up to replace the ones that have been shut down. Indeed, so many of the state's residents enjoy gambling while on vacation that Las Vegas is sometimes referred to as the “Ninth Island” of Hawaii.
Bet on Sports Today
While we wait for the officials in Honolulu to get their act together, it's possible for you to bet on sports online right now. What's more, you can also enjoy casino games and poker too. One site that combines these three forms of gaming is called Bovada. When you make your first deposit, you can get up to $750 in bonus funds to use in the sportsbook, $3,750 for the casino, and $500 to play poker with. Press the button below to proceed to Bovada.lv:
You can read this comprehensive Bovada review if you'd like to learn more about the site. For other online poker options, check out this overview of internet poker in Hawaii. If you reside in another state, you can instead head over to this USA online poker guide.
April 15, 2025 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief