While legal sports betting would be new to Hawaii, it’s already happening across the state — just through unregulated, illegal websites that lack consumer protections. Hawaii has the chance to get sports betting right by following the example of many mainland states in creating a strictly regulated and transparent sports betting market that can provide revenue for the state and protections for players.
For decades, I’ve worked with regulators, researchers, clinicians and people in recovery from gambling addiction to ensure regulated gaming operators — especially online sports betting companies — meet high standards for responsible gambling. Online, regulated sportsbooks can track user activity in real time, offer tools like spending limits, and are required to act when they detect signs of problem gambling. I would argue that the level of protection on leading regulated sports betting apps in some jurisdictions now exceeds the baseline protections that exist in land-based casinos.
If Hawaii is to legalize sports betting, it must ensure its approach is informed by data, modern safeguards and the experiences of other states.
States have learned they must crack down on illegal online gambling. Unsafe, unregulated apps and platforms evade gambling laws and avoid responsible gaming measures. These platforms often allow users to bypass age and identity verification with a simple checkbox and are not required to fund problem gambling programs. In my over two decades of working in the responsible gaming sector, I know that a legal, regulated marketplace is far safer than unregulated platforms that lack basic safeguards.
Legal sports betting platforms across the country have made great strides over the past decade in consumer protection and responsible gaming. State regulation has enabled standards that require tools absent in the illegal market — real-time behavioral monitoring to flag signs of problematic behavior, like excessive betting, changes in spending patterns, or signs of distress, before it escalates. Players can set time and deposit limits, or even opt in to self-exclusion programs if needed. Age and identity verification are strictly enforced to prevent underage gambling. Best-practice guidelines, like those developed by the National Council on Problem Gambling, promote informed decision-making, responsible marketing, and support for at-risk players.
Gambling regulators in states with legalized gambling play a critical role in minimizing the social costs of gambling problems. These regulators mandate strict responsible gaming practices for all operators and work to educate the public on the difference between regulated and unregulated online gambling and ensure customers have access to publicly funded problem gambling education, treatment, and prevention programs.
By embracing legalization and regulatory best practices, Hawaii can move beyond the risks of the unregulated market and build a safer, more transparent system that actually serves its residents.
The absence of regulation doesn’t equate to the absence of harm — Hawaii residents are placing risky online bets daily. Instead, Hawaii lawmakers have a chance to create a marketplace with built-in safeguards, rigorous oversight, and dedicated funding for culturally competent programs that promote responsible gaming.
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Keith Whyte, former executive director for the National Council of Problem Gambling, now leads the problem gambling advisory firm, Safer Gambling Strategies.
