When it comes to growing the economy and raising revenues, the 30th Legislature needs to learn to work smarter, not harder. Since no one else wants to say it, I will: it’s time for a state lottery system, casinos and legalized, taxable gambling in Hawaii.

The official position of most local state and county agencies when it comes to gambling is almost perfectly captured by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s recent testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on a bill that merely proposed to study online sports gaming:

“DBEDT believes that legalized gambling in any form puts at risk the values that make Hawaii the Aloha State. Specifically, there are too many unintended social and economic impacts that may outweigh the perceived benefits.”