David Ige, Governor of Hawaii, expressed his skepticism over the newly proposed casino expected to be opened in Kapolei, the second-largest city on the island

As slot machines and poker games are currently illegal in Hawaii, it is general knowledge that the state still doesn’t have lotteries, commercial or tribal casinos. However, the newly proposed casino is expected to change this shortly.  

The Hawaii Homes Commission (HHC) recently approved a location for the casino and, regardless of his skepticism, the governor “will likely be included in the legislative agenda for 2021” while his stance as reported by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser is still “considered unofficial so far.” 

It was further reported that the Governor said:

The benefits [of a casino] would not exceed the social costs of gambling. It does not provide economic value to our community.

Casino.org also shared that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) proposed ‘the construction of an integrated resort because it needs to raise $6 billion to provide housing assistance to nearly 28,000 Native Hawaiians’.

However, there is a current pause in the newly proposed casino because of “shortage of money” in the budget of the agency, which is likely associated with the economic and financial problems caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Source: Gambling Insider

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