Online Gaming in Hawaii

On 25 January 2012, Hawaii HB2422 was introduced to the state legislature. The purpose of the bill was to create the Hawaii Internet Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which would authorize games of chance, skill games, a lottery, poker and casino games on the internet. The new entity would work with a private company and act as the sole provider for online gaming in the state.

The private business would be selected through a bidding process, and any company that had ever accepted online wagers from Americans would not be eligible. In March 2012, HB2422 failed to advance in the state's House of Representatives, leaving Hawaii with no form of land-based or internet gambling within its jurisdiction.

In January 2013, State Senators Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Gilbert Kahele and Malama Solomon introduced a similar bill to HB2422 that would legalize internet poker, lotteries and other casino games. The bill, SB768, would establish the Hawaii Internet Lottery and Gaming Corporation and charge it with regulating gambling operations within Hawaii and selecting a gaming operator that could provide a complete turnkey solution. Any operator that accepted real-money wagers from within the U.S. before 20 September 2011 would be ineligible to provide gambling services to Hawaii.

In March 2013, SB768 failed to garner a hearing in the state's House Finance Committee after clearing both the Economic Revitalization & Business Committee and the Judiciary Committee. The bill did not have enough support from both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature to move forward.

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin issued a statement in 2016 saying that daily fantasy sports constitute illegal gambling under current state laws. Daily fantasy sports legislation in the forms of House Bill 855 and Senate Bill 204 are awaiting further hearings.

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