The surprising Hawaii sports betting push ended just short of the goal line.
Rep. Daniel Holt’s House Bill 1308 almost made sports betting in Hawaii a reality this year, but it fell just short of the Friday deadline. The legislation made it to a conference committee, passing both the House and Senate, but no agreement could be reached before a key deadline last week.
“We put our best effort forward; we got it very far this year, this deep into conference, but it seems as if we have not come to agreement on details: the tax amount, who would operate, would house the operation of the sports betting and give out the license and licensing fees,” Holt said, per Hawaii News Now.
“It is what it is, and we just got to work harder next year, try to answer the questions that the rest of the members and the public has and see if we can capture this tax revenue that we much need for our state.”
Hawaii sports betting surprise
The Aloha State is one of two without any form of legalized gambling. Holt’s bill was a Cinderella story of sorts, as no sports betting bill in the state had previously progressed past more than a committee.
House lawmakers stripped the initial 10% tax rate and $250,000 license fee in Holt’s legislation before passing it. The Senate added those figures back in before its passage.
Despite Gov. Josh Green signaling he would sign the legislation, the two chambers did not find a final agreement. The bill would have allowed at least four sportsbooks to operate in Hawaii.
Gambling study coming
While online sports betting’s surprising push fell short, the legislature did create a work group to study the gambling industry.
There was also a proposal to create a casino in Honolulu this session.
“There’s never been a bill that went this far in gaming,” lobbyist Cliff Laboy said, per Hawaii News Now. “Get the task force, go out there, find out, study, do your due diligence, come back, go back to the table and figure out which way you want to go.
“But Hawaii needs something like this. There’s no other way … unless the legislators can come to the general public with a plan on how we’re gonna bring new money into the state.”
