Expert urges baseline gambling-prevalence study, says protections must come first

Doctor Cho, a project coordinator at the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies, told the Tourism and Gaming Working Group that Hawaii needs baseline prevalence research before moving toward legalization.

"If Hawaii truly cares about future generations, then the first thing it should do is baseline prevalence research before anything else, whether legalization ever happens or not," Doctor Cho said, arguing that without reliable prevalence and screening data policymakers cannot gauge vulnerability or design effective protections. He highlighted findings from other jurisdictions showing concentrated betting by small groups ("In New Jersey, for example, 4% of bettors account for 40% of bets and 57% of spending"), and said legalization without careful design often creates downstream consumer-protection problems.

Cho recommended a package of safeguards to accompany any policy changes: clear policy goals (tourism vs. harm minimization), responsible-gambling defaults and opt-out/self-exclusion systems, early intervention and referrals to specialized treatment, advertising limits and data transparency for independent review. He emphasized that data transparency does not mean publishing proprietary operator data but ensuring regulators can monitor trends and effectiveness.

Committee members welcomed the emphasis on evidence. Dan Wicker, deputy director at the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, said the presentation helped frame the priorities the state will need to decide before considering specific models. The chair closed the segment by telling members they may submit follow-up questions to the presenter for further clarification.