legislation – FairOdds Network

April 16, 2025

Tax rate, fees, regulator at issue as Hawaii sports betting bill goes to conference

A conference committee has about two weeks to come to an agreement.

Hawaii’s digital sports betting bill has hit a snag. HB 1308, which has made a surprising march through the house and senate, is headed to conference committee after the house rejected an amended version passed by the senate on Friday.

After moving through senate committees with no tax rate or application fee, both were added on the senate floor. In addition, the regulator was changed in a senate committee and the department of law is now named.

HB 1308 would allow for statewide digital sports betting with a minimum of four platforms. There would be no retail locations.

The bill initially had a 10% tax rate and a $250,000 application fee, but those were stripped in the house finance committee, where Representative Sue L Keohokapu-Lee Loy voiced concern that the application fee was too low.

It “appears rather low for an industry that makes billions of dollars”, she said. “I would love to see that licence fee go up ..

April 4, 2025

Hawaii sports betting bill reaches senate floor

Its tax rate is set at 10% of AGR with percentages earmarked for problem gambling and education.

It was another step forward for proponents of legalised mobile sports betting in Hawaii on Wednesday (2 April) after the senate ways and means committee approved HB 1308, moving it to the full senate floor.

The bill passed by an 11-2 vote, although four state senators voted “aye with reservations”. Ways and means was the third and final senate committee needed to vote the bill forward after the economic development and tourism and the commerce and consumer protection committees did likewise.

The bill reached the senate floor despite ongoing opposition from notable groups throughout the state. Among them was the state attorney general’s office, which submitted written testimony citing problem gambling concerns as well as changes to fantasy sports that will lead to “unregulated and unlicensed gambling”.

Filling in the numerical blanks

HB 1308 passed through the lower chamber of state gov..

March 24, 2025

Campaign contributions are part of the picture as Hawaii debates gambling proposals

Despite heavy opposition from government agencies and native Hawaiian groups, a Hawaii digital betting bill continues to move.

Like gambling expansion bills in other states, HB 1308 in Hawaii has faced opposition from the start. The bill would allow four digital sports betting platforms and no retail locations.

But as the bill has moved through the house and progressed in the senate, what is unique is that much of the opposition has come from government agencies ranging from the attorney general and local police to the departments of taxation and finance. In addition, the department of commerce and consumer protection – which was initially named in the bill as the regulator – opposes the bill.

Support from the industry, meanwhile, has been tangible as well as vocal. Donations made to lawmakers reviewed by iGB reveal that some lawmakers who received donations from the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) – which prior to 2024 had not made a donation to any Hawaii lawmaker – sponsored gambli..

October 9, 2024

G2E: Lobbyists predict Texas’ odds of 2025 gaming expansion now “greater than 50%”

Numerous years of political progress in Texas have made it so that the chances of passing gaming legislation in the 2025 session are better than ever, according to a panel of lobbyists on Tuesday (8 October) at Las Vegas' Global Gaming Expo (G2E).
Tuesday’s discussion drew a packed house to hear about the latest progress in the Lone Star State. David Rittvo, principal at Tailored Hospitality Advisors, moderated the discussion alongside three heads of governmental relations: Andy Abboud of Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Rick Limardo of MGM Resorts and Caesar Fernandez of FanDuel.

Abboud was the most bullish of the group, proclaiming several times that Texas gaming expansion is “inevitable”. Even if 2025 isn’t the year, he said, it will still be “another session of great progress”. When asked about the probability of passage next year, he asserted that it is now “greater than 50%”.

The path to legalisation is not easy – it requires a constitutional amendment, enabling legislation and pa..

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Tag: legislation