Online Sports Betting Hawaii: No Legal Hawaii Bookies

Online Sports Betting Hawaii

Unfortunately, there are no legal online sports betting Hawaii websites. Sports betting is illegal in Hawaii, whether that be in-person or online. You cannot wager on any sporting events. This events include horse races and dog races, which are usually allowed in other states, but not in Hawaii.

Legal Options for Hawaii Residents

You might be surprised that such a liberal state like Hawaii has stricter gambling policies than much more conservative states. There is no legal sports betting Hawaii. There are no casinos either. The only permitted type of gambling is social gambling in private areas.

The conditions of social gambling are thus: players must be of age (+18), the activities should not be conducted at any business establishments (e.g. hotels, bars etc.), no player should receive anything of value or profit apart from the player’s personal gambling winnings, no corporation or entity is entitled to charge for the use of the premises, food, drinks or entertainment, and lastly, the gambling activity should not be bookmaking.

Daily Fantasy Sports in Hawaii

Daily Fantasy Sports allow players to create fantasy sports teams using real athletes from different sports and leagues. The players use complex sports statistics to earn money and their winnings are based on the performances of the athletes they choose in real life.

Sadly, Daily Fantasy Sports are illegal in Hawaii. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) allows Daily Fantasy Sports, which means that their status can be decided by the state. The Hawaii Attorney General, Doug Chin, declared Daily Fantasy Sports illegal in 2016.

Offshore Bookies in Hawaii

You might have seen Hawaii betting sites online, but know that they are illegal under UIGEA. The state does not allow any type of online gambling, so all the options you can find are offshore websites, which are illegal under both federal and state law. Please avoid them as they are unregulated and might turn out to be scams.

Legal Sports Betting Hawaii: Pending Legislation

There might be some good news concerning gambling in Hawaii. Legislators have been proposing various bills meant to legalize different forms of gambling in the state. Currently, there are four pending bills, namely SB595, HB736, SB816, HB772, whose resolution we would see in the 2022 session. This makes us hopeful that Hawaii might change its ways soon.

Unfortunately, a few sports betting Hawaii bills have not been succesfull in the near past. There were bills aiming to legalize online sports betting Hawaii as well as land-based Hawaii sportsbooks. They didn’t make it, but others might. We will give you more details about them in the next section.

Prior Legalization Attempts

Although we were happy to hear that Hawaii was seriously looking into the possibility of legalizing sports betting, the proponents’ plans didn’t come to fruition. There were two recent bills that unfortunately died in committee.

HB1107, for example, was meant to establish “a task force to examine and make recommendations on policy issues regarding the benefits and harms of online gaming”, so we expected for online sports betting Hawaii to be set into motion. HB1107 was proposed by Representative Chris Todd (D) on January 24, 2019, and it was co-sponsored by another 11 representatives.

Then, there was SB2571, which proposed to establish a task force to examine the benefits and harms of introducing legal sports betting Hawaii. The bill was sponsored by Representative Val Okimoto (R) who introduced it on January 17, 2020; it was co-sponsored by another four representatives.

Sadly, both HB1107 and SB2571 died in committee despite being supported by various members of the two main political parties.

Current Legislation

Now let’s talk about the current legislative attempts to bring on Hawaii sportsbooks. SB595, proposed by Senator Donna Kim (D) on January 22, 2021, is very similar to the failed SB2571, because it proposes to establish the same task force meant to examine the potential legalization of sports betting Hawaii.

Then there is HB736, which aims to amend “the definition of gambling to exclude digital sports betting”. It was introduced on January 27, 2021. Its sponsor is Representative Chris Todd (D) who proposed the failed HB1107. Both SB595 and HB736 would be carried over to the 2022 Regular Session, so there’s still a chance for them to pass.

There are another two gambling bills in motion, namely SB816 and HB772. The former would see the creation of a state lottery, while the latter would see the creation of a land-based casino in Waikiki. Both of these bills would be carried over the 2022 Regular Session.

The fact that Senator Donna Kim proposed bill SB595 after its legislative twin SB2571 failed, means that Hawaiian legislators are eager to legalize sports betting Hawaii. The same thing can be seen with Representative Chris Todd, whose own 2019 sports betting bill failed, but it looks like he’s not going to stop pushing for this reform.

The motivation behind these legislators is simple – Hawaii needs the additional tax revenue, as well as a new industry that can create thousands of new jobs. Hawaii’s economy is not currently at its strongest and many locals desperately need jobs.

The Outlook for Pending Legislation

Despite the economic benefits of introducing sports betting Hawaii, some members of the House have signalled that now it’s not the time to amend the state’s strict gambling laws. Representative John Mizuno, who authored a bill aiming to create a legal land-based casino, admitted that Hawaii was not ready to kickstart legalization, although it desperately needed an additional source of income.

Mizuno said that the House representatives “just don’t feel strongly when it comes to gaming bills.” Although we hope that Mizuno is a bad prophet, his extensive experience with gambling legislation leads us to believe that he’s probably right.

What Legal Online Sports Betting Would Look Like in Hawaii

If legal online sports betting Hawaii is introduced, it would be overseen by a new state agency. One of the proposed gambling bills called for the establishment of a state regulator called the Hawaii Sports Wagering Commission. It seems like proponents of legalization want both the creation of both land-based and online Hawaii sportsbooks.

What Online Bookmakers Look Like in the Legal States

What Hawaii needs right now is to close the $1.4 billion deficit in its budget created by the lack of tourism due to the Covid-19 pandemic. An easy way to do that would be to tax legal sports betting Hawaii. Gambling might be taxed at the Hawaiian income tax rate, which is between 1.4 and 10%.

There’s also the federal flat gambling tax rate of 24%, so the US government would benefit from legalization as well. Players have to file the W2-G if they make more than a certain amount of money. The taxable amount also depends on the type of game.

The History of Online Sports Gambling in Hawaii

Hawaii was surprisingly a gambling-friendly nation before it established relations with American missionaries. Islanders used to gamble on different sorts of games, as observed by Captain James Cook, during the popular Makahiki festival, which took place between October and March.

This changed when the indigenous people were gradually Christianized by missionaries. Some time in the 1800’s, these forms of gambling were banned, although horse racing betting remained popular until the end of the 19th century. Once Hawaii became a state, it has strictly opposed all forms of gambling.

The reason why sports betting bills have been popping up in Hawaii and other states in the past three years is because of a Supreme Court case from 2018. With the Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association case, the Supreme Court overruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA).

PASPA made sports betting illegal on a federal level. By striking it down, the Supreme Court allowed for individual states to decide whether to legalize sports betting themselves. Many states have since done so, so we’re looking at you, Hawaii.

Potential Licensing Requirements

One legal sports betting Hawaii becomes a reality, it would be strictly regulated by the state authorities, and more specifically by a gaming commission, which would have to be established once this form of gambling is legalized. Its first job would be to hand licenses that allow sports betting providers to operate in Hawaii.

Afterwards, the state authority would enforce the rules it set for legal sports betting in the state by making sure that both players and operators abide by them. If any legal disputes were to arise, it would be up to the regulator to solve them.

All in all, only legal sports betting Hawaii would be safe for the gambling enthusiasts in the state. They can be assured that every legal sport betting site Hawaii provides would be strictly regulated. They won’t have to worry about breaking the law or losing their money if Hawaii makes that possible.

Both black market websites and physical casinos are unfortunately very common in Hawaii. The state authorities can barely handle the multitude of illegal operations all around the state. Don’t visit such places because it’s illegal to gamble under state law. It’s also dangerous to gamble at unregulated sites, as well as illegal.

Black Market Bookmakers Operating in Hawaii

Conclusion – Hawaii Betting Sites are Illegal

So, this was all about sports betting Hawaii. We covered topics such as the history of gambling in the state, the past and present legalization attempts, as well as the future outlook for gambling in Hawaii. We hope you found this overview to be informative and interesting to read.

In conclusion, let us remind our readers that betting sites in Hawaii are absolutely illegal. There are no land-based Hawaii sportsbooks, licensed websites, or mobile apps, so if you find any promoting themselves as such, know that they are scams. Be careful and diligent.

As previously mentioned, there are few pending bills, which might quickly change the strict prohibition that Hawaii has imposed on gambling. Once there are new legal developments, you can expect us to report on them. Make sure you regularly check our page for any updates concerning offline and online sports betting Hawaii.

Common Questions and Answers

Thank you for reading this overview of Hawaii sports betting. We hope you found everything you needed in it. We aim to answer the most common questions our readers ask, so you can find the most frequently asked ones below. If you still have any unanswered questions, please contact us and ask away!