Hawaii and Utah are the only two states without any form of legalized gaming — casinos, sports betting, lottery or horse racing.
For now.
A majority of Aloha State lawmakers support legalizing online sports betting. This action wasn’t on the 2025 bingo card of any gaming industry prognosticators.
Gaming consultant and analyst Steve Ruddock wrote on Substack that Hawaii is the year’s surprise headline.
Boyd Gaming is quietly watching. The Las Vegas-based company draws the bulk of its business for its three downtown casinos from the island state — an effort that began more than 50 years ago when Boyd’s founders began operating charters from Hawaii. Boyd representatives told Hawaii lawmakers in January that sports gaming taxes don’t bring in the money that’s promised.
Company spokesman David Strow declined to comment last week. Boyd executives are expected to receive questions about Hawaii from analysts when first-quarter earnings are reported April 24.
Boyd owns 5 percent of national sports betting operator FanDuel, which manages the activity in conjunction with the company’s casinos outside Nevada. However, Boyd operates sports betting at its 10 casinos in Southern Nevada.
HB1308 calls for Hawaii to allow four online sports betting licenses with a fee of $250,000 per license. Operators would be taxed 10 percent on all profits. The legislation also calls for the creation of a problem gambling prevention fund.
It’s unclear where the licenses would land. Representatives of BetMGM, FanDuel, Fanatics and DraftKings have been present during committee hearings.
The House passed the bill in March, and the Senate approved the measure last week with a few amendments. The bill is heading to a conference committee of both houses to work on a compromise, possibly as soon as this week. The bill would then go to Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat.
The governor said he was neutral on sports betting legalization but suggested there was an economic upside from the activity. Previously, Green said he was open to including some forms of gambling as part of the new Aloha Stadium project in Honolulu. However, that legislation went nowhere.
