Online Casinos in Hawaii

All Gambling Is an Offence in Hawaii, Online Included

Hawaii licenses no casino, runs no lottery and has no gaming regulator. Its criminal code reaches the activity directly rather than leaving it unaddressed. Hawaii Revised Statutes 712-1223 provides that “A person commits the offense of gambling if the person knowingly participates in any gambling activity.” and that “Gambling is a misdemeanor.”

The definition that makes this cover online casino games is in 712-1220: “A person engages in gambling if he stakes or risks something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under his control or influence, upon an agreement or understanding that he or someone else will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.” A contest of chance is defined broadly — “"Contest of chance" means any contest, game, gaming scheme, or gaming device in which the outcome depends in a material degree upon an element of chance, notwithstanding that skill of the contestants may also be a factor therein.” — and so is the stake: “"Something of value" means any money or property, any token, object, or article exchangeable for money or property, or any form of credit or promise directly or indirectly contemplating transfer of money or property or of any interest therein, or involving extension of a service or entertainment.”

The operator side is more serious than the player side. Under 712-1222, “A person commits the offense of promoting gambling in the second degree if the person negligently advances or profits from gambling activity.” and “Promoting gambling in the second degree is a class C felony.” The first-degree offence, which covers bookmaking above a threshold and larger lottery and mutuel schemes, carries more: “Promoting gambling in the first degree is a class B felony.” Advancing gambling activity includes anyone who “Engages in conduct that materially aids any form of gambling activity.” No online casino is licensed in Hawaii, and this site does not point readers at operators that are not licensed where they are.

The Only Exception Is Private Social Play

Part III of chapter 712 contains one carve-out, and it is not a commercial one. Social gambling is an affirmative defence rather than a licence, and among its conditions is that “No other person, corporation, unincorporated association, or entity receives or becomes entitled to receive, anything of value or any profit, directly or indirectly, from any source, including but not limited to permitting the use of premises, supplying refreshments, food, drinks, service, lodging or entertainment; and” A business that takes a cut cannot meet that condition, which is why the defence cannot be stretched to cover a casino of any kind. Another condition is that “None of the players is below the age of majority; and”

No Sourced Position on Sweepstakes Casinos

Hawaii has published no statute, rule, court decision or attorney general opinion that addresses sweepstakes casinos, so this page records no sweepstakes status for the state rather than inferring one from the real-money position. Two features of Hawaii law pull in different directions and neither settles the question. One is the Attorney General’s published view of a product whose payment was called something other than a stake: “The activity involved in daily fantasy sports betting is gambling under the plain meaning of Hawaii's gambling statute because: (1) the amount wagered on each daily fantasy sports contest is something of value that is being staked despite being called an "entry fee"; (2) daily fantasy sports contests are contests of chance and involve future contingent events not under the control of players; and (3) the major daily fantasy sports companies lay out in detail what players will receive on the basis of certain outcomes.” That reasoning is about daily fantasy sports, not about sweepstakes casinos, and it is recorded here as the Attorney General’s approach rather than as a ruling on another model.

The other is a narrowing printed in the legislative history with 712-1220: “In Item (11) the phrase "or a privilege of playing at a game or scheme without charge" was deleted from the definition of "something of value."” That deleted phrase is the hook Washington State relies on to reach play for virtual currency, and Hawaii no longer has it. Until Hawaii addresses the model itself, the honest record is that its sweepstakes position has not been researched to a conclusion, which lists no operators and asserts nothing.

Sweepstakes casinos and real-money casinos are separate products with separate rules, and neither is presented here as a licensed version of the other.