Hawaii bill seeks to ban prediction markets
House Bill 2198 was proposed after bets were reportedly placed on governor Josh Green’s State of the State address.
US.- Hawaii lawmakers have introduced a bill that would explicitly classify prediction markets as illegal gambling. House Bill 2198, introduced by representative Scot Matayoshi and supported by a group of 16 Democratic sponsors, seeks to update Hawaii’s gambling laws to “expressly prohibit prediction event contracts relating to sports, contests, people, politics, catastrophe, and death.”
The proposal was introduced following reports that nearly $450,000 was wagered on prediction platforms on whether governor Josh Green would mention specific words or phrases during his 2026 State of the State address.
Under current Hawaii law, a gap allows for certain contracts involving the future purchase or sale of securities. Lawmakers claim these contracts “violate moral and ethical standards” and create “financial incentives and motivations” for the occurrence of sensitive or potentially tragic events.
The measure has been referred to the House committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and the Judiciary. If approved, the ban is scheduled to take effect on July 1.
