Gambling proposals likely after ruling by Supreme Court

Hawaii faces additional challenges to its standing as one of only two states to reject all forms of gambling after Monday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court opened wide the door to sports gambling.

Bills that would call for legalized sports betting in Hawaii are likely to be introduced in next year’s state Legislature in the wake of Monday’s landmark court decision, legislators say.

Under a challenge from New Jersey, which was joined by several other states, the Supreme Court struck down key portions of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which had largely restricted sports gambling to Nevada.

Three other states (Delaware, Montana and Oregon) had approval to offer limited gambling, including pools.

“I mean, bills do get introduced on a yearly basis of different types of gambling, and with this (court decision) I would anticipate more bills being introduced,” state Rep. Sylvia Luke, chairwoman of the House Finance Committee, said.

State Senate President Ron Kouchi agreed. “I would think so,” he said in a text message.

But Luke said, “I think it is too premature to say if the Legislature or the public would be in support of it (sports gambling). That is something we would have to gauge.”

Kouchi said, “Beside the general issues, social issues, that are attendant, a lot of people aren’t aware of what federal law permits (for Native American) groups” that could complicate matters.

Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, a candidate for governor, said in a statement, “This ruling means that the Congress of the United States cannot dictate to the states, what to do on this issue. It is up to the states to decide whether or not to legalize sports betting. There are a lot of legal considerations and discussions to be had if we, as a community, decide to join the 48 states that permit some form of gambling to generate revenue for government programs and initiatives.”

Utah and Hawaii have been the two holdouts.

Hanabusa added, “The state Legislature would have to enact laws and policies that protect consumers and ensure public safety.”

Gov. David Ige’s office said due to events on Hawaii island, it was not immediately able to respond to a request for comment.

A UH spokesman Monday said the school has yet to take an official position on sports gambling in the state.

Special Agent Arnold Laanui of the FBI’s Honolulu office said in an email that it is difficult to put an exact number on the amount of illegal sports betting. “However, looking over cases successfully prosecuted — the FBI and its law enforcement partners have seized tens of millions of dollars in illegal online gambling proceeds in recent years.”

Laanui said, “Recent advances in technology have made policing online casinos particularly challenging. This is because online casinos also present challenges with associated criminal activity to include identity theft and money laundering. For example, in 2010, a foreign national was convicted (on) the mainland of laundering approximately a half-billion dollars through illegal online gambling. The FBI and Department of Justice take seriously the issue of illegal gambling and will continue to investigate and prosecute these activities to the fullest extent.”