HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A national gambling researcher said Thursday that Hawaii is not ready to legalize gambling because too little is known about its impacts.
Dr. Raymond Cho, Ph.D., project coordinator at the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies in New Jersey, said the state needs more data before legalizing gambling.
“Right now, we don’t know how vulnerable or prepared Hawaii actually is when it comes to gambling harms,” Cho said. “Even outside of gambling, Hawaii already faces behavioral health and access and workforce challenges, especially in rural and neighbor island communities.”
Hawaii is the only state besides Utah that currently outlaws all forms of gambling.
Learning from the mainland’s mistakes
Legal sports betting has spread rapidly across the country since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, which allowed states to decide whether to legalize the practice.
Cho, a Kalani High School graduate, said many states had to address issues after the fact.
Tennessee had to adjust assumptions around operator performance. Ohio and Massachusetts responded to advertising and consumer protection issues regarding terms such as “free” and “risk-free” bets.
“Legalization and thoughtful design are not always the same thing,” Cho said.
Cho said Hawaii’s exposure to gambling influences from both East and West does not automatically make it more vulnerable.
“In some ways, it may also make Hawaii more aware, more realistic, and more resilient around these conversations,” Cho said.
Emphasizing cultural inclusivity
Cho warned that Native Hawaiian inclusion in the process is critical.
“The less they are meaningfully included in this process, the more likely the risks will be concentrated there in the future,” Cho said.
He said the state has a mix of cultures and ethnicities that should be considered in the decision to legalize gambling.
“I’m telling you, if this happens, it’s going to become, ‘How do we do the Hawaii model,’ not, ‘What model did Hawaii copy?’” said Cho.
Hawaii’s next steps
Cho added that the state needs to survey residents to determine whether tourists or residents would be the primary market.
“I think ideally you wanna leverage the tourism and that’s going to be more brick and mortar and less online,” he said.
The state would also need to consider whether mental health resources would be available for gamblers who became addicted.
He asked whether there are enough treatment providers and whether they are trained in gambling-specific addiction. He said financial and credit counseling would be needed, especially given Hawaii’s high cost of living.
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