Hawaii Sports Betting Bill Advances and Heads to Full Senate

The bill was amended to include a 10% tax rate and an operator licensing fee of $250k. We believe the tax rate is a placeholder which could change as the bill goes to the Senate floor or when it goes back to the House for negotiations.  

Lawmakers have indicated they would like to raise $10m to $20m annually from sports betting. Given the size of the state, it means the rate is likely to rise.

The committee also amended the bill to change the regulator (again) and now it is under the Department of Law Enforcement.  

The bill would authorize a minimum of 4 online operators and says that qualified applicants must be operational in at least 3 states.