{"id":2719,"date":"2024-07-11T18:49:03","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T18:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/?p=2719"},"modified":"2024-08-08T13:34:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T13:34:16","slug":"landlords-of-hawaii-underground-gambling-hubs-face-harsher-penalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/2024\/07\/11\/landlords-of-hawaii-underground-gambling-hubs-face-harsher-penalties\/","title":{"rendered":"Landlords of Hawaii Underground Gambling Hubs Face Harsher Penalties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Illegal gambling rooms in Hawaii remain a paramount problem on the island state, but Gov. Josh Green (D) and lawmakers hope to crack down on the illicit betting operations through a newly enacted law.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hawaii
An illegal gambling room in Hilo is shuttered in 2017 after police raided the facility and charged seven people with running an illegal gambling business. A newly enacted law in Hawaii now allows landlords to face prosecution. (Image: Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Green this week signed Senate Bill 2197, which expands the penalty structure for landlords who lease property to unsavory individuals who use their occupancies to run illegal gambling dens. The legislation, introduced in January by state Sen. President Ron Kouchi (D-Kauai), amends the definition of \u201cadvances gambling activity\u201d to repeal language that had protected landlords against certain charges related to their tenants\u2019 actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAdvances gambling activity\u201d is a key phrase in Hawaii\u2019s gaming ban. The phrase refers to one\u2019s actions to promote gambling in the first and second degrees.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Under the previous law, landlords were immune from being prosecuted on advancing gambling activity charges unless they made \u201cno effort to prevent\u201d the occurrence or continuation of rogue gambling at their properties. The new law lends responsibility to property owners to ensure that their renters are not conducting illegal activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Landlords Put on Notice<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Hawaii and Utah are the most restrictive gambling states and the only two states in the U.S. that do not allow commercial or tribal casinos<\/a>, pari-mutuel wagering, a lottery, iGaming, or sports betting<\/a>. Despite the prohibition on all forms of games of chance involving financial stakes, Hawaii\u2019s rate of gambling addiction remains elevated compared with the rest of the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hawaii is a major feeder market for Las Vegas casinos<\/a>. Those who can\u2019t afford to fly to Southern Nevada have an abundance of underground gambling options where underground dens operate illegal slot devices and table games.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The perpetual problem for Hawaii law enforcement will ideally be lessened with harsher penalties for landlords who look the other way as to what\u2019s going on inside their rentals and leased properties.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Illegal gambling establishments throughout the state \u2014 and perhaps most alarmingly in our residential neighborhoods \u2014 have become notorious for attracting and fostering violence, illicit drugs, sex trafficking, and other dangerous activity,\u201d said Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steven Alm in a March letter to the Hawaii State Legislature regarding SB2197. \u201cThis is not a victimless crime, and it is not healthy for our communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Alm said the former law effectively barred prosecutors from charging someone with a gambling offense<\/a> if they made any effort whatsoever, including a verbal reprimand to a tenant or property manager, to stop the illegal gambling activities occurring on a property. Amending the law closes the loophole to allow prosecutors to go after landlords and put more responsibility on property owners.<\/span><\/p>\n

Public Defenders Opposed Bill<\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Hawaii\u2019s Office of the Public Defender opposed SB2917 on grounds that it threatens passive partners of property owners who could be unaware of illegal gambling activities occurring at properties they have ownership positions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Suppose a married couple owned a property in which the husband ran an unlawful gambling operation. While the wife knows about the operation and objects to the operation, she can do little to dissuade her husband and stop the activity,\u201d a letter from the office read. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe new definition \u2026 allows prosecutors to go after her as well as her husband and the deleterious consequences that come with a criminal prosecution like civil asset forfeiture<\/a>, suspension of voting rights, and immigration consequences would fall on the wife,\u201d the opposition added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The office conceded that \u201cunlawful game rooms are prevalent\u201d throughout the state and should be stopped, but SB2197 \u201ctakes aim at the wrong people and will do little to curb the gambling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Landlords of Hawaii Underground Gambling Hubs Face Harsher Penalties<\/a> appeared first on Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Illegal gambling rooms in Hawaii remain a paramount problem on the island state, but Gov. Josh Green (D) and lawmakers hope to crack down on the illicit betting operations through a newly enacted law. An illegal gambling room in Hilo is shuttered in 2017 after police raided the facility and charged seven people with running…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2719"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2719"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2722,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2719\/revisions\/2722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}