Prosecutors hope new Honolulu measures against illegal gaming rooms can cut down on crime islandwide.
On Thursday, Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed into law three bills — Bills 11, 12 and 13 — each of which are related to illegal gambling in the county.
The first, Bill 11, sets requirements on “electronic amusement devices” in public establishments. Operators of the establishment are now required to obtain a permit from the Honolulu Police Chief to use such a device on the premises, or else forfeit the device.
The Police Chief could deny a permit application if the proposed location of the device “would be reasonably likely to result in an increase in criminal activity, vandalism, litter, noise or traffic congestion,” according to the bill. The bill also requires anyone with a permit to allow a police officer to enter the premises and inspect the device and other records.
Meanwhile, Bill 12 allows the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting to deny permit applications for properties that have been cited for a gambling-related public nuisance within the previous two years.
And Bill 13 allows landlords to request a police escort while inspecting a private property for nuisance claims, with the accompanying officers authorized to document law violations or unsafe conditions, and to warn people not authorized to be there to leave.
In tandem, the three bills are meant to clamp down on illicit gambling rooms, which often become hotspots for associated complaints of criminal behavior.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Gabriel Huntington told Aloha State Daily that crimes associated with illegal gaming rooms range from prostitution and drugs to robbery and murder.
“Shootings happen when attempted robberies go wrong and either the robber or the security guard shoot at each other,” Huntington said via email. “Many of the armed security are felons such that they are prohibited from carrying firearm under any circumstances. … Many of the players in the illegal game rooms are illegal drug users, so that when they win money they can immediately spend it on illegal drugs.”
Despite this, gaming rooms are hard to keep down. Huntington said that, if HPD shuts down a game room, the operator can easily reopen it, while police need to conduct another investigation sufficient to obtain another warrant.
By allowing officers to inspect premises purely based on the presence of an “electronic amusement device,” Huntington said the barriers for obtaining a warrant are significantly reduced.
Currently, Huntington said, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney has 16 active cases against illegal game room associates — cashiers and security guards — charged in the past three years. Most frequently, these people are charged with promoting gambling in the second degree, a Class C felony carrying a maximum possible sentence of five years’ imprisonment.
Huntington added that “the pace of prosecution is increasing,” and that a 2024 state bill that strengthened the legal case against owners of properties used as gambling dens has helped speed thing along.
“Too many Oʻahu families have been feeling unsafe in their own neighborhoods with the proliferation of illegal game rooms throughout the island,” said Honolulu City Councilman Tyler Dos Santos-Tam in a statement Thursday. “Our communities have been saying loud and clear: no to game rooms, and no to the violence, drugs, and vices that they bring. It’s now the time to match our advocacy with action — let's take down these game rooms and reclaim our communities.”
