Gambling in Hawaii is a 50-50 choice.
Decades of polling show that about half of the folks don’t like it — and the rest love it, or have mixed feelings, but don’t hate it.
So what is a politician to do?
The most popular reaction to questions about legalizing gambling is to call for a study. The churches and the county prosecutor are against gambling, with polls going back decades showing the voters split.
A Honolulu Star-Advertiser poll taken in 2002 showed 25% saying they would definitely support gambling and another 24% reported they might support some form of gambling.
So if you run for office whatever you say is going to get support ranging from hate it to love it to lukewarm.
Television reports feature Gov. Josh Green last week saying he would not veto a bill legalizing gambling if it had enough “safeguards.”
Of course it is always about the details, and politicians from Green to legislative leaders are just waiting for the gambling supporters to fill in the details.
Last week the Star-Advertiser reported that the Senate Ways and Means Committee became the sixth committee to “easily approve the bill, adding more safeguards including administration by the state Department of Law Enforcement and a ban on betting on youth sports.”
It’s important to note that Hawaii and Utah are the only states that do not allow some form of gambling.
The gambling bill has become linked with the issue of building a new sports stadium in Halawa with the plans calling for a sports authority to figure out a way to get some of the revenue from a gambling bill to pay for the stadium.
According to broadcast reports, a study group would review gambling proposals to see how it would fit into plans for the proposed New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District. That working group would include legislators, someone from social services and, interestingly, three people representing gaming corporations.
A state Senate committee report on the proposal said that “legalized sports wagering, if properly regulated and monitored, can both decrease illegal predatory activity and assist in the long-term fiscal health of the State and its residents.”
Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm was concerned about the plans.
“The red flags are that online gambling in particular is going to hurt lower-income folks more. It’s going to create more problem gamblers because having a casino in your hand 24/7 is light-years away from having to go to a casino,” he said in legislative testimony last week.
The reason all the talk about legalizing gambling is continuing at this late date in the legislative session is because the governor has not said “no” to gambling proposals. Green said he would not veto a bill to allow online sports betting in Hawaii if it comes out of the state Legislature with proper safeguards. That was a big change from past governors — in fact, former Govs. Linda Lingle and David Ige recently co-wrote an opinion piece in this newspaper opposing gambling — so the issue has changed.
But whether that change is enough to replace decades of opposition to gambling in Hawaii is still not a sure bet.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com
