{"id":582,"date":"2026-01-24T13:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T14:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/?p=582"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:26:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:26:05","slug":"hawaii-doesnt-have-casinos-state-task-force-considers-changing-that-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/24\/hawaii-doesnt-have-casinos-state-task-force-considers-changing-that-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii Doesn\u2019t Have Casinos. State Task Force Considers Changing That Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Hawaii has no legal form of gambling<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>A state task force is mulling the pros and cons of casinos, sports betting, and lottery gaming<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Hawaii is one of only two states, the other being Utah, that have no legal form of gambling. A state task force has assembled to consider the merits of bringing casinos, sports betting, a lottery, or other forms of gambling to the Aloha State.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_374345\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-374345\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO wp-image-374345 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Hawaii casinos gambling tourism gaming\" width=\"858\" height=\"572\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/shutterstock_2455046363-858x572-1.jpg\"><figcaption>An aerial view of Honolulu, Hawaii&#8217;s capital and largest city. A state task force has begun meeting to consider whether Hawaii should legalize casinos and\/or other forms of gambling. (Image: Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Authorized through legislation last year, the Tourism and Gaming Working Group met for the first time on Thursday. The 24-member group consists of state lawmakers, law enforcement officials, tourism and gaming experts, and representatives from the gaming industry, including delegates from Boyd Gaming, FanDuel, Aristocrat Gaming, and Marnell Companies.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The working group is tasked with &#8220;researching gaming experiences in other states, reviewing potential gaming legislation, examining gaming possibilities at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hawaii-gaming-study-bill-advances-could-help-build-sports-stadium\/\">New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District<\/a> and on vessels, and developing a comprehensive policy framework that addresses economic growth, job creation, tax revenues, and social considerations related to gambling.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The group will investigate the hypothetical economic benefits against possible negative societal costs of gaming, along with the regulatory needs to govern such an industry. The working group is to submit a detailed report with findings and recommendations to the Hawaii State Legislature by late 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Contentious First Meeting<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">During the Tourism and Gaming Working Group&#8217;s first gathering, sides were taken about whether Hawaii should join the 48 other states in legalizing some form of gambling. Opponents said casinos and other forms of gambling are drains on personal finances and specialize in preying on addiction.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Why do we need to study an activity that we already know will cause harm to our citizens?&#8221; asked Steve Alm, the prosecuting attorney for Honolulu County.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;Some will pose the argument that people are already gambling, even though it is illegal. The illegality of this activity is the very tool that is keeping many more from participating. Once we promote legalized gambling and put the societal stamp of approval on it, many individuals who are deterred from wasting their lives and finances will then participate. This is not worth the few extra tax dollars legal gambling would generate,&#8221; Alm declared.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Gambling, of course, is already occurring in Hawaii, with Michael Lambert, director of the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement, conservatively estimating that the illegal market is worth roughly $800 million a year for illicit businesses. Lambert said underground gambling hubs are associated with drug dealing, armed robberies, and other criminal activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">State Rep. Greggor Ilagan (D-District 4), who co-chairs the Tourism and Gaming Working Group, said the legalization of gaming could be used to rid the state of illegal gambling rings.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Las Vegas Impact<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Hawaii represents a major feeder market for Las Vegas, and no casino company targets the islands more than Boyd Gaming.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Las Vegas is commonly called Hawaii&#8217;s &#8220;Ninth Island.&#8221; Boyd caters to visitors from Hawaii with its Vacations Hawaii packages that include flights on Hawaiian Airlines to one of Boyd&#8217;s Las Vegas resorts, including the California, Main Street Station, and Fremont.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">The Cal, one of the downtown Las Vegas Boyd properties, features a Hawaiian theme and speaks &#8220;Aloha&#8221; fluently, so claims the resort&#8217;s branding.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Boyd is opposed to Hawaii legalizing casinos and welcoming outside companies that haven&#8217;t traditionally invested in the islands. Boyd&#8217;s Helping Hawaii initiative provided over a quarter of a million dollars to the islands after the 2023 Maui wildfires.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hawaii-doesnt-have-casinos-task-force-considers-gaming-legislation\/\">Hawaii Doesn&#8217;t Have Casinos. State Task Force Considers Changing That Reality<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\">Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hawaii has no legal form of gambling A state task force is mulling the pros and cons of casinos, sports betting, and lottery gaming Hawaii is one of only two states, the other being Utah, that have no legal form of gambling. A state task force has assembled to consider the merits of bringing casinos,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":585,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions\/585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}