Three bills targeting illegal gambling in Honolulu were signed into law by Mayor Blangiardi on Thursday.
Bills 11, 12 and 13 grant the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) and city agencies on Oʻahu expanded powers to shut down illegal game rooms.
Hawaii News Now reported the story, with Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm commenting that “illegal game rooms are an island-wide problem and that more than 60 operations have been shut down in the last year.”
Breakdown of the Bills
“Bill 11 is actually creating fines for our gambling devices,” City Councilmember Andria Tupola said.
The bill defines and regulates “electronic amusement devices,” including video and mechanical game machines. Additionally, it requires operators to obtain an annual permit from the Police Chief or face device seizure.
Under the terms of the bill it authorizes fines, and classifies misdemeanors for businesses found with less than 20 gambling machines or felonies for over 20 units.
The other two bills focus on the relationship between the HPD and the Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) for Honolulu to work together to target illegal gaming rooms.
Tupola added that, “Bill 12 strengthens the relationship between DPP and HPD when we crack down on building violations, and bill 13 specifically addresses that landlords work with HPD.”
Gambling in Hawaii
The bills have been passed successfully at a time when legislators failed to come to an agreement to legalize sports betting in Hawaii. A bill proposing to make online sportsbooks legal in the state failed despite being passed in both chambers earlier this year.
The Senate and House passed different versions of the bill, and could not resolve matters such as the tax rate and how the industry would be regulated.
The legislation in Honolulu focuses on tackling illegal gaming rooms across the island of O’ahu, but does not make any regulations around online gambling.
Hawaiians Already Betting On Sports
Rep. Daniel Holt, one of the proponents of legalizing sports betting in Hawaii, commented that residents are already betting in big numbers in the Aloha State.
“Sports betting is already happening across our islands,” said Holt. “It’s just happening through bookies and unsafe offshore websites that don’t have any consumer protections and allow minors to bet.”
The Sports Betting Alliance estimates that Hawaii residents wager around $300 million annually, mainly through offshore sportsbooks.
Hawaii remains one of only two states, along with Utah, with no legal form of gambling. The recent effort to legalize sports betting progressed further than previous attempts, however, and it is likely that new legislation will be proposed again next year.
The bills passed in Honolulu will tighten the gambling at illegal gaming rooms, which may lead to more Hawaiians turning to online forms of gambling.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
