The hunt continues when it comes to positive Hawaii betting news, as the Aloha State is hoping to make history sooner rather than later. In some disappointing news, however, the efforts to get things across the line in 2026 did not go to plan, which was a major setback for the state and fans of betting. However, there's no time to waste, as the Hawaii sports betting focus has shifted to 2027 to see if things can get done.

Will that end up being the case? Earlier this year, there were two separate sports betting bills that were gaining positive momentum. With positive updates coming it, it felt like Hawaii was going to be able to move forward with things. However, they ended up stalling during the legislative sessions, which has once again delayed things. As of this writing, there are 39 states with legal sports betting, and 33 ones with online options as well.

However, Hawaii is one of 11 states without either, which has been disappointing to see for so many of its local citizens. Moving forward the state is going to be tasked with getting on the same page one way or the other to get these efforts across the board. Obviously, things are going to start with a top sports betting bill to get developed that Republicans and Democrats can all agree on.

Until that happens, though, the worry is that more delays are going to arrive. Moving forward, officials are also going to have to change the minds of people who are opposed to sports betting getting the green light. There continue to be a lot of concerns when it comes to gambling, but there are also so many positives, including tax revenue. It will be interesting to see how things change here, but 2027 could be the year that things finally get done for sports betting and other forms of gambling too.

Two Hawaii sports betting bills that did not push forward in 2026

As we mentioned above, there indeed were two Hawaii sports betting bills that did not push forward in 2026. Those were House Bill 2570 and House Bill 3303. According to multiple reports, it would have required a $500,000 cost for sports betting licenses, with that covering five years of operation. On top of that, it was also reported that each sports betting bill would have resulted in a sports betting tax revenue of 15 percent.

Just from that alone, it's clear that sports betting would have provided the state with a handsome chunk of change. However, again, things weren't finalized and now the state is looking at other options for sports betting needs. It's important to remember too that these two sports betting bills would have made it illegal to bet on college games. With the University of Hawaii having fun football and basketball programs, this makes sense.

It's up in the air what kind of revisions will be placed on future sports betting bills, but the tax revenue is something that people are going to be keeping a close eye on. By this time next year, the hope is that the wheels will be in motion for sports betting in Hawaii, as online options are something that people are going to be focused on. Only time will tell if that ends up happening or not.

Prediction markets are still being used in Hawaii consistently

Last but not least here, don't forget that prediction markets are still being used in Hawaii consistently, which is another problem for officials to work with. This of course is not a new issue in the USA, as lawsuits have been filed and legal action is being taken in states where sports betting is not yet legal.

California and Texas are the headliners there, as people are able to check the NFL sportsbooks, MLB sportsbooks and more to check futures odds and then place their bets through Kalshi and others. As we've mentioned in other articles, this is a 'loophole' of sorts that allows for people to place their sports bets in a legal way due to prediction markets being good to go at a Federal level.

However, the fact that those bets are being made in states where things are illegal - that's where the main problem arises and it's impacting Hawaii as a whole too. This is something that Hawaii is working to push back against a little but, but overall, the fight against these prediction markets all over the USA aren't gaining much ground. Hawaii is on that list.