HONOLULU (KHON2) — There’s a bill gaining steam through the state legislature that will legalize and regulate sports gambling in the state as early as this summer.
It’s a trend that’s swept the nation, with 39 states legalizing the practice since a federal Supreme Court ruling in 2018, but some, including the Hawaii State Attorney General and Honolulu Prosecutor, oppose the measure.
“It’s never a better time than today,” said Hawaii State Representative Daniel Holt (D) Sand Island, Iwilei, Chinatown. “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?”
Thirty-nine states will have legalized sports gambling in some fashion in 2025.
Those who oppose the measure point to increases in societal costs like bankruptcy, theft, embezzlement, suicide, child abuse and neglect, divorce, incarceration, and homelessness, as noted by an opponent in the Honolulu Police Department.
“The risk is already out there,” Rep. 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 bill would put a tax equal to ten percent of the adjusted gross sports wagering receipts, which is slated to go to the Department of Law Enforcement. Rep. Holt hopes the revenue can stop illegal game rooms.
“The Department of Law Enforcement who would be administering the program would be in receipt of the proceeds of the majority of these funds, not all of them. But it would be to police the current online illegal markets as well as enforcing on the game rooms. HPD testifies that we have between 7,100 illegal game rooms in operation at any time, and we obviously need to step up the enforcement, so funds would be also be dedicated towards those types of enforcement.”
Many, including investigative journalist John Oliver, have questioned the predatory practices of online sports gambling outlets that target gambling addicts.
“We currently have problem gamblers in our state, and it will continue to exist, but the number will not explode if we have legal sports betting,” Rep. Holt said.
The bill is currently in conference and has a lot of details to iron out, but it has made it through the House and Senate. Rep. Holt says that, hopefully, there will be a final bill by the end of the session. If signed into law, the bill could go into effect July of this year.