Hawaii has officially become the latest state to attempt to regulate online poker.

On January 20th, Senate Bill 677 was submitted to Hawaii state legislature that would not only set up intrastate iGaming but would allow for interstate gambling provided that the prizes are related to Hawaiian tourism.

Bill Would Authorize Games of Chance and Skill

The bill would effectively create the Hawaii Internet Lottery and Gaming Corporation and give them the authority to run games of chance and skill.

Among the games listed were lottery, poker and casino games. Sports betting or any contest related to sporting events will not be authorized.

Hawaii would also be permitted to enter into liquidity compacts with other states similar to that between Nevada and Delaware. Frankly, such a compact would be necessary for the state to draw realistic revenue for online poker.

In addition, the corporation would be allowed to offer free-play and sweepstakes to players outside of Hawaii with the purpose of driving tourism to Hawaii. In other words, events that would award trips to Hawaii or stays on one of the islands would be available to those outside of the state.

Up to two land-based events in Hawaii are permitted to be offered per year with the purpose of driving tourism to the state.

Tourism Based Gaming an Interesting Concept

The tourism angle related to this bill is indeed interesting. While the prizes are not necessarily cash based, they are still "items of value" and therefore could violate other state gambling laws.

But ignoring that for a minute, the tourism angle would indeed draw interest from online poker players.

Imagine being a player from North Carolina and winning a trip to Hawaii. Since online poker is legal there, you could sign up and play legal online poker while on the dime of the gaming corporation.

This is similar to the way that most casinos comp prospective whales in order to entice them to stay and play. But being that Hawaii is a prime tourist destination, the state will still benefit regardless of whether winners spend a dime gambling online.

Don't Expect Much From This Bill

While we would love to hype this bill, the reality is that Hawaii is a state that has shown very little interest in legalized gambling in the past and there are few indicators to suggest they have changed their mind.

Prior to this bill being filed, there has been zero buzz or discussion regarding iGaming regulation and this doesn't bode well for the bill's chances.

At this point, we would say that this bill has less than a 5% chance of passing this year. As such, this is likely the last time we will discuss this bill unless significant movement is made in the Hawaii legislature.