Casino Legislation, Gaming Study, Illegal Gambling Crackdown Happening All At Once In Hawaii

While much of the mainland U.S. begins its week digging out of a walloping winter storm, a different sort of storm is brewing in sunny Hawaii.

Numerous gambling topics are on the table with the Aloha State’s legislature in session, including carried-over 2025 casino legislation, a new bill to limit a potential casino, the early stages of a study on the pros and cons of legalizing gaming, and a law enforcement push to clamp down on illegal gambling facilities.

Hawaii is one of two states (the other being Utah) with no legal gambling — not even lottery play.

But legislators somewhat surprisingly introduced bills in 2025 to leave Utah on its own, including SB 1507 sponsored by Sen. Ron Kouchi and companion bill HB 1434 sponsored by Rep. Nadine Nakamura, which aimed to establish the Hawaii Lottery and Gaming Corporation. Everything from sports betting to brick-and-mortar casinos to online casino was on the table, but failure to reach consensus on tax rates and licensing fees prevented any of the legislative efforts from succeeding.

Those attempts do seem to have primed the pump, however, for another concerted effort this year.

Casino near Aloha Stadium?

Sen. Dru Kanuha’s SB 893, introduced on Jan. 17, 2025, and carried over to this year’s session, would establish the Hawaii Gaming Control Commission and grant 20-year licenses for casinos in the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District and Hawaii Convention Center. It includes a 15% tax on gross receipts, some of which would go to the newly established State Gaming Fund and Compulsive Gambler Program.

Meanwhile, Reps. Andrew Garrett and Greggor Ilagan introduced on Jan. 21 House Bill 1527, which would block some of what Kanuha’s bill proposes. The HB1527 summary reads:

Prohibits any casino, gambling enterprise, or gambling facility from being located on state lands within or adjacent to the Aloha Stadium Development District project area or on any lands under the jurisdiction of the Stadium Authority. Prohibits athletic programs of the University of Hawaii from competing in venues that are operated by or physically integrated with a gambling enterprise while clarifying that standard naming-rights or advertising agreements do not constitute prohibited sponsorships.

As these efforts to legalize or limit casinos make their way through the system, the new Tourism and Gaming Working Group held its first meeting last Thursday as part of an effort to study and debate bringing legal gaming to Hawaii.

The group was established via Senate Concurrent Resolution 121 last year and is guided to report its findings and recommendations to lawmakers “no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027.” One can reasonably infer based on that deadline that the legalization process in Hawaii is a longshot to reach fruition during the 2026 legislative session.

The initial meeting of the Tourism and Gaming Working Group saw a division similar to that found in other states, with one side warning about the potential for addiction and crime if gambling is legalized, and the other side playing up job creation and tax revenue.

Eye on illegal gambling

Last Thursday’s meeting also included an update from law enforcement officials, as Hawaii News Now reported, on illegal gambling in the state and the ongoing efforts to crack down on it.

When increased enforcement began there were reportedly more than 100 known illegal gambling establishments in Oahu, and that number is now said to be down to about 50.

Other numbers of note: The Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) estimated some unlicensed game rooms are seeing revenue of more than $10,000 a day, and DLE Director Mike Lambert estimated a statewide illegal gaming industry worth $700-$800 million.

Law enforcement is seeking additional funding to raid more unregulated gambling houses, to which Ilagan said, “I think we definitely need some metrics and some data” before committing more dollars to the effort.