Digital Wager Wire highlights the most significant events affecting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industries each week throughout the year.
Hawaii Awaits Gambling Study
Hawaii is one of the few states where nearly all forms of gambling are banned. The Aloha State does not even have a state lottery, which has been a financial boon to state and local governments throughout the United States.
Therefore, it is not surprising that several attempts to bring online sports betting to the masses have failed. However, that has not stopped the state legislature from commissioning a report on the pros and cons of mobile sports betting and the possibility of a land-based casino located at the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District.
The Tourism and Gaming Working Group is a cross-section of gaming industry employees, law enforcement officials, and legislators who have been tasked with generating the report and disseminating their findings to the legislature. It is expected to enlighten lawmakers about the financial benefits, as well as the potentially deleterious societal effects of a new gaming industry.
The report is due before the 2027 legislative session begins, and last week the group heard testimony from gaming industry executives.
Tres York, vice president of government relations at the American Gaming Association, said, “Many states use gaming tax revenue to fund education programs or fund infrastructure improvement projects, public safety initiatives, and other priorities important to the citizens of each particular state.”
“Whether or not Hawaii ultimately chooses to authorize any form of gaming, the experiences of the 48 states that have done so can offer valuable lessons in regulatory designs and consumer protection,” added York.
Industry data reveal that the gaming sector employs 1.8 million people and generated $125 billion last year, with state governments earning $52 billion from taxes on those profits. It is compelling testimony, particularly given estimates that Hawaiians gamble up to $800 million each year on unlicensed sites.
Penn Stock Rebounding After Strategic Pivot
Penn Entertainment’s proposed expansion from a regional casino operator to an online sports betting powerhouse failed to go as planned. The company spent billions on marketing its brand by buying the Barstool Sports empire for $550 million to create the Barstool Sportsbook, only to then sell it back to the original owner, Dave Portnoy, for $1 within six months of the acquisition, as a condition by Disney to then enter into a 10-year, $2 billion deal with its subsidiary, ESPN, to create ESPN Bet.
That deal with ESPN did little to move the needle for Penn’s mobile sports betting brand, barely capturing 3% of the market and panicking investors as they watched the company’s stock price plummet from a high of $136.47 on March 15, 2021, to $11.65 in February 2026.
However, the deal with ESPN had just been prematurely terminated in December, and the hangover effects from several years of misspent capital chasing a dream as a mobile sports betting leader had taken its toll. A mutiny by a major investor saw Penn’s C-suite acquiesce and allow new board members to navigate the company’s choppy waters.
The company’s CEO, Jay Snowden, who was at the helm of this ill-fated mobile sports betting strategy, was in the crosshairs, with many calling for his termination. However, the company had done one thing right in the digital sports betting realm by purchasing theScore, a Canadian sports information company and sports betting platform popular in the Great White North.
Penn purchased the company in October 2021 for $2 billion and has now rolled it out in the US to replace its short-lived ESPN Bet brand. Moreover, the company’s success in the iGaming realm has bolstered optimism regarding its future, and the first-quarter earnings report for 2026 was the first piece of good news investors have heard in a while.
“We are pleased to report another solid quarter,” PENN CEO and president Jay Snowden said. “Retail Segment Adjusted EBITDAR grew year over year, and stable trends are carrying into April. In our Interactive segment, continued online casino growth combined with positive trends in Ontario are driving momentum as we prepare for the anticipated July 13 launch of regulated iCasino and online sports betting in Alberta.”
Penn is eagerly awaiting the mobile sports betting and iGaming launch in Alberta, Canada, this summer, while the price of its stock recently eclipsed $18 per share, a 60% increase from only a few months ago.
