The efforts to legalise sports betting in Hawaii have fallen short after the bill failed to garner enough support from a joint conference committee.
Members of both the House and Senate failed to provide unified backing to House Bill 1038, which would have also legalised fantasy sports, despite the fact the legislation had previously progressed from both chambers.
The House and the Senate are required to pass identical versions of the bill before it can be signed into law.
Hawaii’s legislative session is set to adjourn on 2 May, and with no final vote on the measure expected, it means that HB 1038 will not reach desk of Governor Josh Green, who had previously told local media he would be willing to give the bill his support.
After progressing from the House, the Senate approved the bill via a vote of 15-10 on 8 April, though it had made amendments to the proposal that included changing which authority would oversee the regulated market.
The Senate-amended version of HB 1038 also included a GGR tax rate of 10% and a $250,000 (£187,431) licence fee, with neither detail included in the House-approved version.
In response, members of the House disagreed with the changes, suggesting both figures should be increased, sparking the Aloha State’s conference committee failing to come to an agreement.
Both the proposed GGR tax and licence rate would have been among the lowest in the US, but supporters argued the rates were low by design to attract operators and create a competitive market.
Unlike many other established markets across the US, sportsbooks in Hawaii would not have been required to partner with a brick-and-mortar retail location.
The legislation would have allowed for at least four online sports betting operators, with companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings being supporters of the bill and among those which were expected to obtain a license in Hawaii.
The development means Hawaii remains one of only two US states that do not boast any legal mobile sportsbooks, casinos, horse tracks, or a lottery, alongside Utah.
Had HB 1038 been passed into law by Governor Green, Hawaii’s regulated market was expected to have accepted its first wagers before the end of the calendar year.
Lawmakers in Hawaii are expected to resume efforts to legalise online sports betting again in 2026.
The post Hawaii’s hopes of online sports betting collapse after amended bill rejected first appeared on EGR Intel.
A joint conference committee made up of members of the House and Senate fail to agree on HB 1038 after disagreements over tax and licence rate
The post Hawaii’s hopes of online sports betting collapse after amended bill rejected first appeared on EGR Intel.