In what has proven to be an issue for countless states out there, prediction markets have impacted Hawaii betting, but not in a way that people were hoping for. As things stand, Hawaii is one of the 11 states who is yet to legalize any form of legal sports betting. However, with mid-terms here, there's no question that prediction markets could impact voting for Hawaii's next Governor.

Just recently, the mid-term primaries arrived in the state, with Democrat Josh Green receiving a boatload of votes to take the seat for the Democrats. Come November, he'll have to take down the Republic winner if he wants to take over as the next Lieutenant Governor in Hawaii. However, with the way things are being tallied already, it could end up pushing people into one general direction.

That's because on Kalshi, Green and the Democrats have been given a major chance of winning this election, as the expectation is that he'll return to office for a second term. Taking a look at Kalshi alone, it has him listed with a 97.5 percent chance of getting re-elected. That means that the majority of money is now going on him to win, which isn't a surprise.

However, what's concerning here is that people are now betting on him, which will surely impact how they vote come early November. This is the kind of mess that Hawaii has wanted to avoid. It'd be one thing if betting wasn't involved, but it is, and you better believe that people are also going to be placing bets on the other political races that people will vote on in November as well.

Hawaii is still eyeing sports betting legalization once the 2027 legislative session arrives

While we're still waiting to see how this prediction markets madness plays out, there is hope for citizens, as Hawaii is still eyeing sports legalization once the 2027 legislative season arrives. This topic figures to be a major one of conversation, as Hawaii indeed is one of double-digit states without legal sports betting as a whole, but people are hoping that changes soon.

Hawaii is different here too, as it's not like people can just get into their cars and drive to a different state that does have things legalized. This is what some people do with no California or Texas betting in particular, as those two big states still haven't moved forward with things. For Californians in particular, they love driving to Nevada and Las Vegas for their sports betting needs.

This isn't on the table for people of Hawaii, which adds to the importance of 2027 potentially being the year where things get done. In order for that to happen, the right kind of sports betting bill will need to come into place, while whoever is elected as Governor (likely Green) will need to see if they can make an impact as well. Only time will tell if things start to move in the right direction or not.

Governor Josh Green has previously said he'd be open to legal sports betting

Another thing to keep in mind here too is that assuming he does return to office, Governor Josh Green has previously said he'd be open to legal sports betting. In April 2025, it was brought up as to how Green would feel if a sports betting bill made its way to his desk. While Green himself isn't pushing for things on his own, he made it more than clear that he wouldn't stand in the way of people trying to legalize it if a bill got approved.

With that, though, it's on other elected officials to see what can happen here. It seems like from the start, Hawaii is going to see if it can get things going with online betting, which would make a ton of sense. Online options are where real impacts are made in terms of a sports betting tax revenue, which is why Hawaii could look to go this route.

If that happens too, then it would result in the prediction markets seeing the use in Hawaii take a plummet, which would be a win-win for lawmakers too. Hawaii of course isn't the only state dealing with this problem, but they're one of few without any legal sports betting on the table.

Once 2027 gets here, the sports betting efforts will likely reignite quite quickly. It's truly up in the air to know how things are going to take shape, but it's easy to say that there's a need here for Hawaii. Once the November elections wrap up too, we could get more clarity in terms of what Green is thinking for the future as well.