Instead, authorities are left with no choice but to lie in wait, occasionally shutting down a gambling den while making no significant dent in the number of game rooms across the island. Therefore, local law enforcement is unable to take a preventive approach to illicit game rooms and can do little to stem the flow of gambling machines to the island. Gambling in any form is illegal in Hawaii, but local police have few tools to crack down on the increasingly common backroom operations that provide access to slot machines and table games.Īn investigation into just one game room can take weeks while officers gather enough evidence for a judge to sign a search warrant for a raid.Īccording to state law, it’s not illegal to own or even use a gaming machine unless money changes hands. On any given night on Oahu, the Honolulu Police Department’s Narcotics and Vice Division is keeping tabs on dozens of illicit gambling rooms scattered across the island in abandoned storefronts, warehouses and homes.
Editors Note: This is the second installment in a new series, “ Rolling the Dice,” which is taking a deeper look at the perennial question of whether gambling should be legalized in Hawaii.
