Despite things not going to plan for the Hawaii betting efforts in 2026, it felt like a giant step was taken in the right direction. Getting two bills in the works earlier this year was promising and despite them both failing to move the right trajectory, it has shown that the state is serious about potentially getting things over the line. With that, Hawaii legalizing sports betting could still be on the table for 2027, as it's something that fans on the islands are keeping a close eye on.

In recent years, it's the most serious that Hawaii has been in getting these efforts to the next level. In 2026, House Bill 2570 and Senate Bill 3303 indeed were on the table for officials to take a close look at. With House Bill 2570, it would have opened the door for around 15 percent of wagers to be taxed by the state, which surely would have led to plenty of revenue. As we've seen across multiple states, online betting helps generate a ton of tough.

However, as we mentioned, that bill and SB 3303 didn't get the necessary support that it needed, which was a bit of a bummer. However, that doesn't mean that history is going to repeat itself this upcoming year. What needs to happen is for the right sports betting bill to get drawn up for people to get on the same page.

The difficult task here is that plenty of politicians in the state are extremely against legal sports betting, as gambling addiction has been a major topic of conversation. However, the argument can be made that if people are still finding ways to place their bets, making sure it's in a regulated fashion will help things overall.

Kalshi's new loan proposal will be something Hawaii will keep an eye on

As most of you know, prediction markets are the only form of 'legal' betting in Hawaii due to Federal regulations, but Kalshi's new loan proposal will be something Hawaii will keep an eye on. With this, Kalshi is asking the CFTC for people using their app to be able to 'borrow' money to place bets. This is something that will undoubtedly raise eyebrows all over the country and Hawaii officials will most definitely have their guard up.

"Kalshi has asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for permission to let users of its prediction market borrow money from it to wager bets on its prediction market," Yahoo Sports wrote in a new report on things. "Margin trading, often referred to as leverage, is when people borrow money from a brokerage to buy more stocks or other assets than they could afford with their own cash."

Betting as a whole is frowned upon in Hawaii, but now prediction markets are essentially going to let people gamble on money that's not theirs? That has disaster written all over it and it could add to the worries on gambling addiction. It will be interesting to see if things move forward here or not, but it could change the prediction markets game as we know it. But also, it will give Hawaii yet another reason to work to get things shut down in the state as soon as possible.

Hawaii is still working to get prediction markets banned

Looking at things as a whole, Hawaii is still working to get prediction markets banned, as this was something the state first brought up earlier this year. Hawaii is also part of a coalition of more than 30 states who want these prediction markets to be regulated at a state-by-state level. As things stand, it's regulated nationally, which means it's approved as a whole

That's what Hawaii wants changed. What could help speed up the process, in our opinion, of getting people to stop using the prediction markets is for legal online sports betting to get given the green light. Right now, NFL betting is about to reach another level with the fall months here, but people in Hawaii can only use prediction markets for those betting needs.

Imagine next year if there's legal online betting? People would surely race to use the approved apps and visit in-person sportsbooks where things are authorized. Until that happens, though, people can only use Kalshi, PolyMarket and others while waiting for officials to push forward with the right kind of sports betting bill. It goes without saying, but hopefully that all changes soon.