Hawaii Sports Betting Bill Progresses, Key Financial Terms Under Negotiation
Last week the House passed HB1308 a bill to authorize sports betting. This week the bill was passed out by two Senate committees with amendments.
The bill also would legalize fantasy sports, however, the bill does not create a regulatory framework for those contests.
The original bill included a 10% tax rate and $250k license fee, however, they have been removed and are currently being negotiated. Lawmakers have indicated they would like to raise between $10m to $20m annually from sports betting. Given the size of the state, it means these rates are going to increase significantly.
The bill would authorize a minimum of 4 online operators and says that qualified applicants must be operational in at least 3 states. Since the state has not regulated gaming, the regulatory authority would fall under an existing state agency. However some of these agencies have testified in opposition to the bill.