Hawaii

Sports betting in Hawaii

With the exception of Utah, there is no state in the country with more restrictive gambling laws than Hawaii. Gambling has been illegal since Hawaii became a state in 1959. Social poker games are legal as long as no one profits in any way—even from such seemingly minor thing as the selling of drinks. The state government aggressively cracks down on any effort to evade the regulatory stranglehold against gambling.

At one point prior to Hawaiian Statehood there was a thriving horse racing scene in the islands but that disappeared during the 1940’s with no effort to revive it. There’s plenty of great things to enjoy in Hawaii but sadly gambling isn’t one of them.