The Hawaiian legislature is considering two bills that would legalize gaming in one of the two final holdouts of states that allow no gaming whatsoever.

House Bill 2759 authorizes the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to allow gaming casinos on Hawaiian Home parcels-the equivalent of Native American reservations. The Judiciary Committee cleared the bill after lengthy testimony last week.

A second measure, House Bill 2251, would create a gaming commission that would issue a single five-year license to a casino operator on Oahu. That bill passed muster for the second of three required votes in the House, although a large number of representatives voted against it.

Democrats in the Hawaii legislature are trying to keep the bills alive as an alternative to raising taxes. House Judiciary Chairman Jon Riki Karamatsu wrote the single-casino measure.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.