Hawaii Sports Betting 2026: Laws, Legal Options & Where Things Stand

• ✗ Not legal Both online and retail sports betting are prohibited in Hawaii as of 2026; the state has never authorized any form.
• ⚖ Reaches bettors Under HRS 712-1223, knowingly participating in gambling, including online, is a misdemeanor — the law covers the person placing the bet, not just the operator.
• ⛪ No gaming at all With Utah, Hawaii is one of only two states with no casino, racetrack, card room or lottery.
• ✈ Vegas Residents who want to bet in person travel to Las Vegas, long nicknamed the “ninth island.”
• ⌛ No date The state came closest in 2025; the next realistic window is the 2027 session, with any launch in 2027 or 2028 at the earliest.

No. Both online and retail sports betting are prohibited in Hawaii as of 2026. The state has never passed a law authorizing any form of sports wagering, and it has no agency that licenses sportsbooks. Hawaii is an outlier. While 39 states and Washington, D.C. have legalized some form of sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal ban in 2018, Hawaii has stayed out entirely. It and Utah are the only two states that prohibit nearly all gambling, with no casino, racetrack, card room or state lottery on any island. For a full state-by-state breakdown, see our guide to states with legal sports betting.

It is also important to be clear about who the law reaches. Hawaii’s gambling statute does not target only operators and bookmakers. Under Section 712-1223 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, it is a misdemeanor to knowingly participate in any gambling activity, and prosecutors read that language broadly enough to cover online wagering. The person placing the bet is covered by the prohibition, not just the company taking it. At the federal level, the main statutes are the Wire Act, which targets operators that transmit sports betting across state lines, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which targets banks and payment processors rather than individual bettors. Neither creates a clear federal crime for a person who simply places a bet, but for someone in Hawaii, state law is what governs, and state law prohibits the activity.

Hawaii Sports Betting Quick Facts

What Is and Is Not Allowed in Hawaii

There are none. No state-licensed online sportsbook operates in Hawaii, because the state has not legalized sports betting and therefore issues no licenses. The national operators that dominate other states do not accept Hawaii customers. That includes every brand people recognize. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, bet365 and Fanatics are all live in many states, but none of them operate in Hawaii, none of them have a Hawaii launch date, and none of them can legally take a wager from someone located in the state. Any site claiming to be a licensed Hawaii sportsbook is misrepresenting its status.

If Hawaii does legalize, the operators most likely to apply are the same ones that lobbied for the 2025 bill. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics all backed legalization, and Caesars would be a strong candidate as well. The list below is a look ahead, not a list of options available today.

• DraftKings, not available in Hawaii
• FanDuel, not available in Hawaii
• BetMGM, not available in Hawaii
• Caesars Sportsbook, not available in Hawaii
• bet365, not available in Hawaii
• Fanatics Sportsbook, not available in Hawaii

Until a bill becomes law, there is no legal, regulated online sportsbook for Hawaii residents. The “what a legal market would look like” section below covers how these operators would enter if the state changes course.

Offshore sportsbooks are betting sites based outside the United States, in places such as Costa Rica, Panama, Curacao or Antigua, that accept American customers over the internet. Because they operate from abroad, they are not licensed or regulated by any U.S. state, including Hawaii, and they are not overseen by any American gaming authority. Many bettors reach them as mobile sports betting sites rather than app-store downloads.

Why the lack of regulation matters. A regulated sportsbook answers to a state agency that can audit its finances, require it to hold customer funds responsibly, enforce payment of winning bets and step in when there is a dispute. An offshore site answers to none of that. If an offshore book voids your bet, freezes your balance, changes its terms, delays a withdrawal indefinitely or simply shuts down, there is no Hawaii regulator to complain to and no realistic legal recourse. Players also have no guarantee that the odds, the account security or the responsible gambling tools meet any standard at all. The short profiles below describe three offshore books often discussed for the United States market and accessible from Hawaii. They are here to explain what these sites are and the risks they carry, not as endorsements.

Risks of Using an Offshore Sportsbook

• It is illegal under Hawaii law. Knowingly participating in gambling, including online betting, is a misdemeanor under Section 712-1223, even though enforcement has focused on operators rather than individual bettors.
• No consumer protection. There is no Hawaii regulator to appeal to if an account is frozen, a withdrawal is denied or a balance disappears.
• No legal recourse. Hawaii courts will not help a bettor enforce a wager or recover funds from an unlicensed offshore operator.
• Payment and fund risk. Money can be held, delayed or lost, and banks often will not process the transactions, which is why these sites push cryptocurrency.
• Identity exposure. Personal and financial information goes to a company outside United States jurisdiction with limited oversight.
• Operator-set rules. Bonus terms, betting limits, payout speed and dispute resolution are governed entirely by the site.
• Access can vanish. An offshore book can restrict a state or shut access at any time, and 2026 has brought a wave of state cease-and-desist orders, leaving affected bettors with geo-blocked accounts and balances they cannot reach.

The 2026 Enforcement Wave

State regulators have grown more aggressive toward offshore operators. In April 2026, Michigan issued cease-and-desist orders to dozens of illegal offshore operators, with BetOnline among the names. Tennessee fined Bovada, and Massachusetts and Arizona regulators issued their own orders to offshore books taking illegal bets. When a book retreats from a state under that pressure, the people left behind are the bettors, who can find their accounts blocked and their balances stuck. This is a practical reason the “accepts Hawaii” status of any offshore site should be treated as temporary rather than reliable.

Offshore Books With a History of Not Paying

Some offshore operators have track records that should be treated as outright warnings. The examples below come from longstanding industry blacklists and illustrate what can go wrong when there is no regulator behind a site.

Regulated Market Versus Offshore Site

Bottom line: there is currently no way to bet on sports from inside Hawaii without running into the state’s prohibition, and offshore sites do not change that. The honest options are to wait for legalization, to bet legally in a state that allows it, or to consider the limited legal alternatives described later on this page.

There is no land-based sportsbook in Hawaii. There are no casinos and no race and sportsbooks on any island, so the honest answer to “where is the best place to bet in person” is Las Vegas. Hawaii sends so many visitors to southern Nevada that Las Vegas is widely known as the ninth island. The small state generates well over 150,000 trips a year to Las Vegas, and an estimated 50,000 people of Hawaiian background live in southern Nevada. The reviews below cover the Las Vegas sportsbooks most relevant to Hawaii travelers, starting with the downtown properties run by Boyd Gaming, which built its business around the Hawaiian market decades ago. These are legal, regulated Nevada sportsbooks. The legal age to bet in Nevada is 21.

California Hotel and Casino

Known as The Cal, this is the heart of the Hawaii to Vegas connection. Boyd Gaming opened it on Jan. 1, 1975 as its first downtown property, and after a slow start it leaned hard into a Hawaiian theme to draw island visitors. Today roughly 80 percent of its guests come from Hawaii. The property sits at 12 E. Ogden Ave., a short walk from the Fremont Street Experience, with about 36,000 square feet of gaming space and 781 rooms. It runs a Boyd sportsbook on site, serves island comfort food at spots like Aloha Specialties, and is the hub for the long-running charter packages from Honolulu. If you want the most Hawaii-friendly base for a betting trip, this is it.

Fremont Hotel and Casino

A sister Boyd property a couple of minutes from The Cal, the Fremont opened on May 18, 1956 and joined Boyd Gaming in the mid-1980s. It draws a heavily Hawaiian crowd even though it carries no Hawaiian branding. After a recent expansion it added a roughly 2,900-square-foot FanDuel Sportsbook on the main level, with a video wall, comfortable seating and around the clock betting kiosks. It is a solid, central choice for placing bets while staying downtown.

Main Street Station

The third Boyd downtown property in the Hawaiian-favorite trio, Main Street Station sits next to the California and is connected to it, so guests move easily between the two. It is best known for its Victorian decor, its on-site brewery and good value dining. It does not run a large standalone sportsbook of its own, but the Boyd sportsbook at the adjoining California is steps away, which is why many Hawaii visitors stay here and bet next door.

Circa Resort and Casino

If the goal is the best sportsbook experience downtown, Circa is the headliner. It opened on Oct. 28, 2020 as the first new ground-up casino in downtown Las Vegas in decades and is located directly across from The Cal. Its sportsbook spans three floors with about 1,000 seats and a giant high-definition screen, and the property bills it as the largest sportsbook in the world. Circa is known for taking large wagers and welcoming sharp bettors, and its Stadium Swim venue pairs pools with a huge sports screen. Note that Circa is a 21 and older property.

Westgate SuperBook

Just off the Strip on Paradise Road, the Westgate SuperBook opened in 1986 and spent years billed as the largest race and sportsbook in Las Vegas, with about 30,000 square feet of space and a 220-foot video wall. It is the longtime home of the SuperContest football handicapping competition. In a change announced on April 21, 2026, Caesars Entertainment will operate the venue as the Westgate SuperBook, powered by Caesars Sportsbook, pending Nevada Gaming Commission approval, with the transition planned before football season. The name and scale stay, while the betting menu and technology come from Caesars.

Gambling in Hawaii is governed by the Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 712, Part III, the part of the penal code the state adopted in 1972. The framework is broad and treats nearly all wagering as prohibited, with a narrow carve-out only for certain social games. The key sections are below.

• Section 712-1220, Definitions. Defines gambling as staking something of value on the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under the bettor’s control, and defines bookmaking as accepting bets from the public on the outcomes of future contingent events. Read it at capitol.hawaii.gov, Section 712-1220.
• Section 712-1221, Promoting gambling in the first degree. The most serious offense, aimed at large-scale gambling operations. A 2022 amendment elevated it to a class B felony. It applies, for example, to bookmaking that takes more than five bets totaling more than $500 in a day.
• Section 712-1222, Promoting gambling in the second degree. A lesser promotion offense, classified as a misdemeanor.
• Section 712-1222.5, Gambling aboard ships. Makes it illegal to promote gambling on ships in state waters, a provision that matters to the recurring debate over cruise ship gambling.
• Section 712-1223, Gambling. Makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly advance or participate in any gambling activity. This is the section that reaches everyday bettors. Read it at capitol.hawaii.gov, Section 712-1223.
• Sections 712-1224 through 712-1228. Cover possession of gambling records and gambling devices, related defenses and rules of evidence.
• Section 712-1230, Forfeiture. Allows the state to seize money, devices and property used in illegal gambling, subject to Chapter 712A.
• Section 712-1231, Social gambling. The narrow exception. It permits a private social game only when every player competes on equal terms and no one profits beyond personal winnings, with no house cut. The social gambling age referenced in Hawaii is 18.

For the full chapter, see the official index from the Hawaii State Legislature at capitol.hawaii.gov, or the annotated text at Justia, Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 712.

Enforcement and illegal game rooms. Illegal gambling persists in Hawaii through underground game rooms, particularly on Oahu, and the Honolulu Police Department has conducted repeated raids over the years. In 2024, the Legislature passed Act 249, which strengthened the law by holding property owners accountable when they knowingly allow illegal gambling operations on their property.

Daily fantasy sports. In January 2016, then Attorney General Doug Chin issued a formal opinion, Opinion 16-1, concluding that paid daily fantasy contests are illegal gambling under existing state law because they involve staking something of value on contingent outcomes. The opinion is available from the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General at ag.hawaii.gov, Opinion 16-1. Days later, the Honolulu prosecuting attorney sent cease-and-desist letters to FanDuel and DraftKings, and both exited the Hawaii market. No statute has changed that conclusion since, and it applies equally to newer pick-style contests.

It has not. Despite a steady stream of bills going back nearly a decade, Hawaii has never legalized sports betting. What makes the recent history notable is how close the state finally came in 2025, and how it fell short. The national backdrop matters. In May 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting, freeing each state to decide for itself. Most states moved quickly. Hawaii did not, in part because of deep cultural opposition to gambling, in part because the islands have no neighboring states drawing residents across a border to bet, and in part because law enforcement and community groups such as the Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling have consistently pushed back.

The earliest modern efforts date to 2017, when HB 927 proposed a commission to study the social and fiscal effects of gaming, including sports wagering, and SB 677 sought to create a Hawaii Internet Lottery and Gaming Corporation. In 2019, a dozen representatives co-sponsored HB 1107 to establish a Sports Wagering Corporation to regulate online and retail sportsbooks, one of the first serious post-2018 attempts. The 2020 session carried that effort forward alongside a task-force study bill, but both died in the Senate.

The 2022 session showed lawmakers were still learning the issue. HB 1815, from Rep. John Mizuno, proposed an Online Sports Wagering Corporation but attached an unworkable 55 percent tax on customer winnings, while HB 1973, from Rep. Chris Todd, called for a more realistic 10 percent tax and oversight by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Both failed, as did a casino bill. Notably, HB 1815 acknowledged in its own text that tens of thousands of Hawaii residents already bet with illegal offshore operators, an argument supporters have used ever since. Momentum built in 2024, when HB 2765, from Rep. Daniel Holt, advanced out of the House Committee on Economic Development, the first real committee movement in years, before dying in later committees. It would have set the betting age at 18, allowed operators licensed in at least three other jurisdictions to apply, and named the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism as regulator.

The breakthrough came in 2025 with House Bill 1308, again sponsored by Rep. Daniel Holt. It became the first sports betting bill in Hawaii history to pass both chambers. The House approved it 35-15 on March 5, 2025, and the Senate passed an amended version 15-10 in early April. Just as important, Gov. Josh Green signaled he would sign a betting bill if responsible gambling protections were included, a meaningful shift in executive posture. Then it collapsed. Because the House and Senate passed different versions, the bill went to a conference committee to reconcile the differences, and the two sides could not agree before the deadline. The House objected to the Senate’s 10 percent tax rate and $250,000 licensing fees, and lawmakers also disagreed over how many operators to allow and which agency would regulate the market. With no compromise, lawmakers rejected the bill on April 25, 2025, and Hawaii stayed out. A separate 2025 casino bill, SB 893, had already been shelved in February.

The 2026 session brought new attempts and the same result. House Bill 2570 proposed a more detailed framework, including a 15 percent tax on adjusted gross receipts, a minimum of six operator licenses at $500,000 each, geolocation and identity checks, anti money laundering safeguards and a statewide voluntary self-exclusion program. Senate Bill 3303, from Sen. Dru Kanuha, would have authorized betting only through licensed mobile apps and banned physical betting locations outright. A proposed constitutional amendment, House Resolution 450, failed on March 6, 2026, getting 63 votes when 120 were needed, and a lottery-statute alternative also failed. Lawmakers did create a Tourism and Gaming Working Group in late January 2026 to study a possible framework, but by spring they had again set gambling aside in favor of budget priorities. The realistic outlook is that supporters will reintroduce a revised bill in 2027. If something passes that session, the earliest a regulated Hawaii market could launch would be late 2027 or 2028, given the time needed to stand up a regulator and license operators.

Hawaii Sports Betting Timeline

• 1959: Hawaii becomes the 50th state.
• 1972: Hawaii adopts its penal code, criminalizing gambling as a misdemeanor.
• 2016: The Attorney General rules that daily fantasy sports are illegal gambling, and FanDuel and DraftKings leave the state.
• 2017: HB 927 proposes a gaming study commission and SB 677 proposes a Hawaii Internet Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
• 2018: The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the federal ban, letting states legalize. Hawaii does not act.
• 2019: HB 1107 proposes a Sports Wagering Corporation to regulate online and retail betting.
• 2022: HB 1815 and HB 1973 propose regulated online betting at 55 percent and 10 percent tax rates. Both fail.
• 2023: HB 344 is deferred, the seventh sports betting bill to fail in three years.
• 2024: HB 2765 clears the House Committee on Economic Development before stalling. Lawmakers approve a study.
• 2025: HB 1308 becomes the first Hawaii betting bill ever to pass both chambers (House 35-15, Senate 15-10), then dies in conference over tax, fees, operator count and regulator. Gov. Green signals support.
• 2026: HB 2570 and SB 3303 revive the effort, a constitutional amendment fails 63-98, and a working group is created. All gambling measures fail for the session.
• 2027: Expected to be the next opportunity for a legalization bill.

Hawaii has no live market, so the details below come from the most recent bills and show what a regulated market would likely look like if the state legalizes. The clearest comparison is between the 2025 bill that nearly passed and the more detailed 2026 proposal.

The operators most likely to go live at launch are the national books that lobbied for legalization. A regulated Hawaii market would probably open with at least four to six of them.

Because Hawaii has no legal market, there are no live betting rules to follow today. The details below come from the most recent bills and from how other states handle the same questions.

Legal Betting Age

Hawaii has no statutory sports betting age because the activity is not legal. The social gambling provisions reference age 18, but legal sports betting states almost always set the minimum at 21, and Hawaii’s recent proposals point the same direction. Expect 21 if a market launches.

College Betting Rules

The 2025 and 2026 bills would have allowed wagering on college sports with one notable carve-out. Betting on collegiate events involving Hawaii-based teams would be prohibited, a common approach in states with home schools, with an exception for tournament play so a Hawaii team in an event like the NCAA Tournament could still be on the board. Betting on youth sports would be banned outright.

Geolocation and In-State Requirements

Any legal Hawaii market would require bettors to be physically located in the state, verified by geolocation, and to pass identity checks when opening an account. Betting would be limited to the inhabited and participating islands. Because Hawaii has no casinos to anchor in-person sign-ups, remote registration from a phone would almost certainly be allowed.

What You Likely Could Not Bet On

Even in a regulated market, several categories are usually off the board, and Hawaii would likely follow suit. Betting on politics and elections is prohibited in essentially every regulated U.S. market. Wagering on entertainment award shows such as the Oscars or Emmys is commonly restricted because small private voting groups make the outcomes vulnerable to leaks. Esports betting is treated cautiously and varies by state, so whether a Hawaii law would include it is unclear.

There is no legal in-state mobile sports betting in Hawaii. National betting apps do not operate there, and they cannot accept a wager from someone located in the islands. If Hawaii legalizes, mobile is expected to be the centerpiece rather than an add-on. With no casinos or retail venues, an app-first or app-only model makes the most practical sense, which is exactly what Senate Bill 3303 proposed. Accounts would likely be opened remotely, with geolocation confirming the bettor is within state lines each time a bet is placed. Until that happens, there is no compliant way to bet from a phone inside Hawaii.

Live and In-Game Betting

Live betting, also called in-play or in-game betting, lets you wager on a game while it is happening, with odds that move in real time. It is standard in most regulated states and at major Las Vegas sportsbooks. It is not legally available inside Hawaii, since there is no legal market. The recent bills contemplated a full betting menu that would include in-play wagering, so live betting would be expected to arrive alongside any regulated launch. For now, Hawaii residents only encounter true in-play betting when they bet legally in another state or in person in Las Vegas.

Sports Betting Bonuses

There are no regulated sportsbook bonuses available in Hawaii today, because there is no legal market to offer them. This page does not promote offshore promotions, which come with the risks described in the offshore section above, including high rollover requirements and withdrawal limits set entirely by the operator. When a state legalizes, licensed operators typically compete for new customers with welcome offers such as bonus bets for signing up, deposit matches, odds boosts and no-sweat or second-chance bets, always carrying terms such as playthrough requirements, minimum odds and expiration dates. If and when Hawaii launches a regulated market, this section will be updated with the actual offers from licensed Hawaii sportsbooks.

Hawaii collects no state betting tax because it has no legal market, but that does not erase a bettor’s tax obligations. The Internal Revenue Service treats gambling winnings as taxable income no matter where or how they were won, including winnings from a regulated book in another state or from an offshore site. Larger payouts can trigger a Form W-2G and federal withholding of 24 percent. Offshore books generally do not issue tax forms or report to the IRS, but the winnings are still legally reportable, so the responsibility falls entirely on the bettor. Winnings taken in cryptocurrency add a layer, because the IRS treats crypto as property and any gain can need to be reported separately. Hawaii also levies a state income tax with rates that range from about 1.4 percent to about 11 percent, among the highest in the country, so reported gambling income is taxed at the state level as well. Keep records of the date, amount and type of each wager, along with deposits and withdrawals. This is general information, not tax advice.

Sports Betting Tax Revenue

Hawaii collects zero dollars in sports betting tax revenue, because the activity is not legal. Supporters of legalization argue that the state is leaving money on the table while residents spend in Las Vegas or with illegal operators, and that a regulated market could fund problem gambling programs and other priorities. As far back as 2013, a bill estimated that tens of millions of dollars in revenue from Hawaii residents was flowing to offshore operators with no benefit to the state. Opponents counter that the social costs would outweigh the revenue, an argument that carries real weight in Hawaii’s political culture. The tax debate has shaped every recent bill: the 2025 measure proposed a 10 percent rate, which several lawmakers said was too low, and the 2026 proposal moved to 15 percent. No official revenue projection is stable enough to cite while the framework keeps changing.

While sports betting itself is off limits, a few sports-adjacent options exist in Hawaii, with important caveats.

Prediction Markets

Platforms such as Kalshi, Polymarket and similar event-trading apps currently accept Hawaii residents. Rather than betting against a sportsbook, users buy and sell contracts tied to future outcomes, including some sports results, and profit if their prediction is correct. These platforms operate under federal oversight from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is the mechanism that lets them run nationally. Their status in Hawaii is genuinely contested, however. The state’s gambling statutes are among the broadest in the country, and in late January 2026 Hawaii lawmakers introduced a measure to define contracts on sports outcomes as illegal gambling. This is a developing area that could change quickly.

Sweepstakes and Social Sportsbooks

Sweepstakes and social sportsbooks use a dual-currency model, with coins for play and a separate currency that can be redeemed for prizes, and several market themselves as available in Hawaii. They are designed around a no-purchase-necessary structure that aims to avoid the legal definition of a wager, which is why they remain accessible. Their footing is shaky, because Hawaii defines gambling broadly enough that staking value for a chance at more value is the core of what the statute targets, regardless of the label. Treat them as a gray area rather than a settled legal option.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily fantasy sports are not legal in Hawaii. The Attorney General concluded in 2016 that paid contests are illegal gambling, and that includes newer pick-style contests where players predict whether athletes will beat a projected stat line. Mainstream operators do not serve the Hawaii market as a result.

Hawaii has no professional sports franchises, so local betting interest centers on the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and on mainland pro teams that residents follow. None of this can be bet legally from inside Hawaii, but it is what draws interest when residents wager in a legal state or in Las Vegas.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Football

Football is the flagship program. The Rainbow Warriors compete in the Mountain West Conference, where Hawaii has been a member since 2012, under coach Timmy Chang, and play at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu. Interest peaks around the home schedule, marquee non-conference games such as the 2026 opener on the road at Stanford, and the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl in December, which the program won on a memorable Christmas Eve in the 2025-26 season. Hawaii football has a proud history, including an undefeated 2007 regular season under June Jones that ended in the Sugar Bowl. Common markets in legal states include the season win total, conference futures and weekly game lines.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Basketball

Men’s basketball, coached by Eran Ganot, won its first Big West Championship and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade in March 2026, and previously reached the Round of 32 as Big West champions in 2016. Beginning July 1, 2026, Hawaii becomes a full-time Mountain West member across most sports, having long housed its non-football programs in the Big West Conference. March is the high point for betting interest.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Volleyball

Men’s volleyball is a genuine national power. The program captured its third national championship in six years in the 2025-26 season, closing the run with wins over Long Beach State and UC Irvine in front of a sold-out Stan Sheriff Center. Volleyball is one of the most-followed sports in the islands, and a Hawaii title run draws statewide attention.

Pro Teams Hawaii Fans Follow

With no in-state franchises and a strong pull toward West Coast time zones, island loyalties cluster around a handful of mainland teams. The table lists the most common.

Major Hawaii Sporting Events

Hawaii does not host major league teams, but it hosts several marquee events that island sports fans follow closely and that would draw betting interest in a legal market.

The Maui Invitational is widely considered the best early-season college basketball tournament in the country, bringing eight programs to the Lahaina Civic Center each November. Golf gets an outsized profile because the PGA Tour opens its calendar in Hawaii, first at Kapalua and then at the Sony Open. Surfing is closer to heritage than hobby on the islands, and the Pipeline events on Oahu’s North Shore close out the World Surf League Championship Tour. Hawaii also produces a steady stream of combat sports talent, with fighters such as Max Holloway and BJ Penn giving local fans a rooting interest in major UFC cards.

If Hawaii legalizes sports betting, the process would follow the same pattern as other regulated states. The steps below describe what a legal experience would look like, and the odds primer applies anywhere you bet legally.

1. Choose a sportsbook that is licensed in Hawaii. Compare odds, markets, banking options and any welcome offer, and only use a site licensed by state regulators.
2. Register online. You would provide your name, date of birth, address, and part of your Social Security number, and confirm you are physically in the state.
3. Deposit and review any bonus terms. Common methods include debit and credit cards, online banking, PayPal and others, and any welcome offer carries conditions worth reading first.
4. Place your bet. Find the market, add it to the bet slip, enter your stake, and confirm.
5. Withdraw winnings. Use the cashier to request a payout, subject to any wagering requirements, with timing that depends on the method.

United States sportsbooks use American odds. A favorite carries a minus sign and an underdog carries a plus sign. With a -150 favorite, you risk $150 to win $100. With a +180 underdog, a $100 bet returns $180 in profit. The favorite is the side expected to win, so it pays less, while the underdog pays more to reflect the added risk. Decimal and fractional formats show the same thing in different ways.

Gambling can become a serious problem regardless of whether it is legal where you live, and Hawaii does not run a state-funded problem gambling program because it has no legal gambling. The 2025 bill did include a problem gambling prevention and treatment fund, so a state-run support system would likely follow legalization. In the meantime, the resources below are available and confidential.

• National Problem Gambling Helpline. Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER, also reachable at 1-800-522-4700 or by texting 800GAM, with chat at ncpgambling.org. Available 24 hours a day.
• Hawaii CARES 988. Call or text 988 for round-the-clock mental health, crisis and gambling support in Hawaii. More at hicares.hawaii.gov.
• SAMHSA National Helpline. Call 1-800-662-HELP for treatment referrals. More at samhsa.gov.
• Gamblers Anonymous. In-person meetings are held in Honolulu, Kahului and Waikoloa, with details at gamblersanonymous.org. Gam-Anon offers support for family members.
• Online peer support. GamTalk runs a free, moderated 24/7 forum at gamtalk.org, useful in a state with few in-person meetings.

Because Hawaii has no regulator, there is no statewide self-exclusion program. Third-party blocking tools such as GamBlock, Gamban and BetBlocker can restrict access to gambling sites and apps.

This page was last reviewed in June 2026. Primary legal sources include the Hawaii State Legislature for the gambling statutes in Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 712, Part III, the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General for Opinion 16-1 on daily fantasy sports, and the official United States Code for the federal Wire Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Laws, operator availability and enforcement actions can change quickly, so verify the current status before acting on anything here.