HB 1651 - Shipboard Gaming Summary

• Establishes a regulatory framework authorizing legal gaming operations aboard ships in Hawaii's territorial and archipelagic waters, with a maximum of two gaming ships permitted under board licenses.

• Creates a three-member Hawaii Gaming Board appointed by the governor to regulate, license, and enforce all shipboard gaming operations, with jurisdiction over owners, suppliers, and occupational licensees.

• Requires owner's licenses ($15,000 annual fee), supplier's licenses ($50,000 application fee plus $1,000 annual fee), and occupational licenses for gaming employees, with strict background check and criminal history requirements for all applicants.

• Imposes a wagering tax on adjusted gross receipts from shipboard gaming to fund the State Gaming Fund, with revenues supporting board administration and the state general fund, subject to legislative oversight and biennial audits.

• Establishes penalties including misdemeanor charges for unlicensed gaming operations, age restrictions (persons under 21 prohibited from gaming areas except employees age 18+), and class C felony charges for cheating, bribery, or other gaming fraud.