Hawaii

Hawaii Senate Advances Digital Sports Betting Bill

Published

1 year ago

April 1, 2025

Press Room

Hawaii Senate Advances Digital Sports Betting Bill

Key Points

House Bill 1308 seeks to legalize digital sports betting in Hawaii
Opponents cited risks of increased social problems and economic disruption
Those promoting the bill argue that it’ll help generate substantial tax revenue

On March 13, 2025, a key Senate committee in Hawaii pushed forward a proposal to legalize digital sports betting in the state. This proposal, House Bill 1308, has been welcomed by Hawaii sports betting fans with enthusiasm, as expected.

With this proposal, four digital sports betting platforms would be allowed to operate in Hawaii without having any retail locations.

What would change

House Bill 1308 would legalize online sports betting in the state of Hawaii. However, many of the details of this legalization are not covered by the bill. Issues like tax rates and licensing fees were not included in the bill, and these have been keeping discussions active during debates about the bill. Also set to be legalized in the bill is daily fantasy sports, serving further to expand Hawaii’s online gaming options.

If the bill is approved in its current form, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) will lose its oversight on the subject to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), in what was another critical amendment in the bill.

While there are concerns over legalizing sports betting in Hawaii, Senate members who were part of the House Bill 1308 review committee argue that digital sports betting is already happening in Hawaii but through unregulated, offshore platforms.

Concerns and opposition

For Deputy Attorney General David Williams, a known critic and opponent of this bill, legal sports betting would bring several negative consequences to the state. He argued that credit card debts, bankruptcies, and domestic abuse would rise with more access to online sports betting.

Similarly, Brandon Maka’awa’awa, vice president of the Independent & Sovereign Nation State of Hawaii, criticized the lawmaker’s failure to get an economic impact study before moving the bill forward. Then there’s DCCA Director Nadine Ando, who warned that building a regulated sports betting market afresh would be costly and difficult to achieve.

She further stated that most states with legal sports betting manage their regulatory challenges via dedicated gaming commissions—a resource that may be lacking in Hawaii. Testimony from Boyd Gaming also highlighted that similarly sized states have sometimes seen lower-than-expected revenues from sports betting, potentially undermining funding for regulatory enforcement and responsible gambling programs.

Support for modernization

Many senators feel that it is finally time for Hawaii to embrace digital gaming, despite the wave of opposition. Sen. Donna Mercado Kim has stated that sports betting is already an everyday activity in the state. She even suggested that some of the law enforcement people currently with her have placed bets at
online betting sites
just before pushing out some of the amendments’ provisions.

In her words, proceeds from betting activities can be channeled back into education and for public benefit. Here’s submission aligns with most of what has been the prevailing argument for the benefit of the proposal. The main point is that the revenue that has previously been lost to offshore operators would be captured with the legalization of digital sports betting and then put to good use.

This revenue would help strengthen the state’s finances and modernize its gambling industry. The hope is that it would create an environment that is both competitive and consumer-friendly.

Local economic implications

For traditional Hawaii casino operators and Video Gaming Terminal (VGT) operators, the stakes are particularly high. They are wary of the fact that most of the revenue they make would be cannibalized with the introduction of digital sports betting. Add this to the fact that Hawaii’s tourism and local economies are loosely tied to its existing gaming sector, and you’ll understand why they’re seriously opposing the proposal.

The larger fear is that many of these operators will lose their profits with a swift shift to online betting, ultimately leading to job losses and diminished support for public services.

The road ahead

Now that it has passed a Senate committee review, the next stop for House Bill 1308 is the Senate Ways and Means Committee. This is the last step before the bill is put to a full Senate vote. During this process, further amendments can still be added to the bill.

The challenge before the lawmakers is the task of carving out substantial new revenue streams without causing financial harm to the traditional gaming sector or social harm to the Hawaiian people.

A few issues like tax rates, licensing fees, and regulatory guidelines remain unsettled, and it’s one to keep an eye on.

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Hawaii

Hawaii lawmakers push for continued tax relief for most families

Published

9 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii lawmakers push for continued tax relief for most families

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaii State Legislature is entering the final weeks of the 2025 session with at least one point of agreement: income taxes will continue to decline for most families.

Both the House and Senate rejected the governor’s plan to cancel some tax relief, despite earlier uncertainty about the state’s financial situation.

“So what the Senate’s position is, is we want to make sure that the promises that were made are kept, especially with those families that make $350,000 a year or less,” said Senate Ways and Means chair Donovan Dela Cruz.

House Finance chair Rep. Chris Todd agreed the priority is ensuring ongoing tax relief.

Energy tax credits targeted to offset revenue loss

Continuing to reduce taxes means nearly $2 billion has to come from somewhere else. The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted to eliminate state energy tax credits for things like solar power and electric cars in 2029.

The credits could be saved if the economy improves.

“So this becomes a shared approach. Government cuts, business tax credits, get sunset, and then we’re still charging some of the higher end income brackets,” Dela Cruz said. “Their tax breaks are going to get repealed.”

House proposes tax increase on high earners

The House moved along a redesigned tax package that makes tax credits for spending on child care and food more generous and raises income taxes on families with incomes over $350,000.

“It would provide some ongoing tax relief to low to middle income families, but in return, we would request a 1% tax increase on very high income families,” Todd said.

The financial picture is clearer now, even with flood disaster costs, because of the federal disaster declaration.

“Now the state’s eligible to get reimbursed for a lot of these funds. We’re not sure what it’s going to look like, but that’s going to be positive for us,” Dela Cruz said.

Todd said the state is sitting on a solid reserve, a luxury not many states have right now.

All the proposals from the House and the Senate are now going into conference committee, where the final details will be worked out over the next month.

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