Is There Legal Gambling In Hawaii
Only two States in the US don’t allow for any kind of
organised gambling at all, and Hawaii is one of them. The other
state is Utah. This means you won’t find any casinos, race
tracks, or sports books in this island state. Naturally, this
also means no live poker rooms with Texas holdem, and definitely
no online poker.
The legislature finds that there is no compelling reason to exclude illegal gambling from the nuisance abatement laws. The consequences of illegal gambling, including the subversion of public order and morals, community disruption, and injury or annoyance to citizens in the enjoyment of their property or legal rights, make these activities. Author Robert M. Jarvis, professor of law at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Finds that Hawaii’s and Utah’s gambling experience can go toe-to-toe with any jurisdiction. “Why is there no (legal) gambling in Hawaii?”interesting question. Of course Hawaii was a nation in its own right (a kingdom) before becoming a U.S territory and then a state. Back then Hawaiians were by no means averse to games and the gambling associated with them. Hawaii Gambling Laws – Legal Casinos, Poker & Betting Hawaii is a kind of paradise in many ways, but not when it comes to gambling laws. In fact, the island state, last to join the US, is pretty late joining the gambling party too, and is in fact one of only two states to offer absolutely no state regulated forms of gambling whatsoever. Gambling Venues in Hawaii Unfortunately, this section will be left short and sweet, as Hawaii is home to exactly zero venues for legal gambling. No casinos, race tracks, bingo halls, slot parlors or lottery distributors can be found on the islands – at least legally speaking.
Unlike some other states that turn a blind eye to the
lottery, you also can’t partake in national lotteries in Hawaii.
Because the state is sea locked, the old argument that’s been
used across the continental United States that you can drive an
hour or less into another state and gamble, and therefore your
home state misses out on tax revenue from gaming, won’t really
work here.
This is a real shame if you love playing Texas holdem poker,
as you’ll really have no good option to turn to.
Social Holdem
Thankfully there’s a somewhat faded silver lining, and that is you can host
a poker game and participate in social gambling, provided that
it isn’t conducted in a public space or establishment, such as a
hotel, motel, bar or nightclub.
The only restriction being you can’t take any rake or make
money out of running the game. The money that you make through
the game itself is fine though.
With this in mind you should be able to find a lot of home
social games around most of the larger cities in Hawaii. If you
don’t have any friends that like poker, we suggest checking out
social meet up sites online to find social games. On top of this
you can always post in the 2+2 forum and see if you have any
luck there. This forum is a great place to find information
about poker.
Is There Legal Gambling In Hawaii Right Now
Online Texas Holdem
If you love online poker then black Friday would have truly
chilled you to the core. On black Friday all legal online poker
was essentially shut down in the United States. You could play
online in Hawaii before this, but the fact remains that you’ll
probably have no chance of doing so again.
Some states have enacted their own legislation and allow for
territory restricted online poker rooms, but due to Hawaii’s
attitude towards gaming in general, this will most likely never
happen in this state. If you want to play online legally you
need to travel to a country that allows open online poker, or to
one of the states in the US that has state online poker rooms
available.
Usually we like to provide some advice on where to go nearby
when you can’t play poker in your home city or state. This is
somewhat more problematic in Hawaii as you’ll need to take a
plane, or very long boat ride, to be able to find a live poker
room. In many places that are located near the sea you can take
a boat or cruise out into international water to be able to play
poker.
Unfortunately this isn’t even an option in Hawaii due to
rules that cruise lines must adhere to in order to operate
around the islands. With this in mind, your best bet in respect
to playing Texas holdem poker out of Hawaii is jumping on a
plane to Las Vegas. You won’t be alone doing this as every year
a huge number of residents travel to Vegas from Hawaii in order
to get their gambling fill.
The plane flight from Honolulu to Las Vegas is around 6 hours
and will usually set you back about $350 each way, unless you
can get a special deal.
This isn’t too bad really and you’ll find many casinos in Las
Vegas cater to the Hawaiian visitors; most notably the
California Casino and Hotel downtown.
If you’re visiting Hawaii then you won’t be able to play any
poker on the trip. If you’re a resident of the continental
United States then consider visiting the Bahamas if you want
that tropical beach holiday and some holdem action on the same
trip.
Legalizing Gambling In Hawaii
Summary
Although we’ve been a little bit negative towards Hawaii and
their laws around gambling, in all honesty it’s probably not a
bad thing that they’ve outlawed it.
The place is truly beautiful and really is a nice getaway
destination to unwind, relax, and escape some the societal
pressures and issues that plague most cities and states in the
US. To this end, perhaps it’s not such a bad thing that Texas
holdem poker and gambling isn’t allowed in Hawaii.