A measure to bring mobile sports betting to Hawaii won’t face pushback from Gov. Josh Green if the piece of legislation makes it out of the state legislature with safeguards.
According to a report from Hawaii News Now, Green has no plans to veto House Bill 1308 if the measure is approved in the state legislature with protections in place for players.
“As long as there’s some safeguards with gambling addiction services and so on, if the legislature goes to the full way and passes it, I’ll likely let it become law,” Green told Hawaii News Now earlier this week.
HB 1308 is going through an arduous legislative process that has seen the bill sent to a conference committee after the House and Senate supported different versions of the measure. Earlier this month, the House voted to disagree with the Senate’s iteration of HB 1308. Nearly all Senate-amended bills with changes were sent to conference.
Framework of Holt’s sports betting bill
HB 1308, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Holt, was introduced in January as a measure that requires at least four online sports betting operators to gain market access in Hawaii.
The measure also calls for the legalization and regulation of daily fantasy sports. The Senate and House have disagreed on what government entity will regulate sports betting under HB 1308. The disagreement stems from Hawaii’s lack of retail or online gambling.
The original version of HB 1308 called for the Department of Consumer Protection to oversee and regulate online sports betting but the department voiced viability concerns.
A Senate version of the bill proposed regulation from the Department of Law Enforcement after the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs also expressed concerns.
Potential tax rate in Hawaii
An iteration of HB 1308 did not include tax rate or licensing fee standards but the latest version of the measure calls for a minimum 10% tax rate on sports betting revenue for operators. It also requires operators to pay a $250,000 fee for a five-year license.
Under HB 1308’s current version, licensed suppliers must pay a $10,000 licensing fee.
The fees proposed by HB 1308 caught the attention of the Sports Betting Alliance. The pro-sportsbook lobbying group suggested in a written testimony to the legislature that operator licensing fees should be set at $500,000 to cover administrative costs.
The group also proposed increasing the supplier licensing fee to $20,000.
Hawaii lawmakers will have to move quickly to pass HB 1308 as the state’s legislative session runs through May 2. The measure will be considered by a conference committee that features six lawmakers, three Senate and three House members.
In the coming days, the group will look to come to a consensus on tax rates and fees.
