Hawaii’s Proposed Sports Betting Law Includes An Insane Tax That Could Make Wagering A Lot Less Fun

Hawaii's Proposed Sports Betting Law Includes Insane Tax On Winnings

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  • Hawaii has unveiled a bill to legalize sports betting that features a fairly bold clause
  • The proposal features a tax that would force operators to fork over a higher percentage of winnings than anywhere else in the country
  • Read more about sports betting here

There are a number of parallels between the rise of marijuana legalization in America and the more recent movement to give sports betting the green light, as more and more states have opted to allow people within their borders to wager on athletic events as the practice becomes increasingly normalized and the economic benefits of permitting it become too obvious to ignore.

As has been the case with cannabis, each jurisdiction has formulated its own unique approach when it comes to enacting a plan to roll out legal sports betting. In some cases, states have instituted some fairly conservative measures with responsible gambling in mind by making people sign up for an account at a physical sportsbook before being permitted to bet on a mobile app, while others have been fairly liberal when it comes to the tax rates that determine how much revenue ends up in their coffers.

Based on how most existing laws are structured, sportsbook operators are the ones who bear the brunt of those fees. Bettors in states like New York and New Hampshire (respectively taxed at 50% and 51%) may be impacted down the line due to less lucrative promotions, but they’ll only have to fork over their own money if they take home some serious dough.

Based on a new bill that was recently introduced in Hawaii, it appears the state is looking at those numbers as a challenge, as gaming attorney Daniel Wallach dug through the proposed piece of legislation and discovered the state is currently weighing a 55% tax on winnings that would be the highest in the country if instituted.

While the current wording of the language made some people fear that tax would be applied to the winnings of any bettor who wanted to cash out, Wallach has assuaged those worries by clarifying operators would be the ones on the hook.

At the end of the day, I think most people in the sports betting realm would agree that something is better than nothing, but that’s still a pretty bold play on Hawaii’s part.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.