Council Approves Three Measures Targeting Game Rooms and Illegal Gambling; Prosecutor and Community Cite Crime Near Schools

The Honolulu City Council on Friday approved a package of three measures that expand the city’s tools to address game rooms and unregulated electronic gambling devices, citing community complaints of crime, violence and youth exposure near schools.

The measures passed third reading after committee amendments and public testimony from prosecutors, neighborhood leaders and community groups. Supporters said the measures give law enforcement and prosecutors a less‑punitive, more targeted tool to remove devices and close game rooms that attract drugs and violent crime.

Gabe Huntington, a deputy prosecuting attorney who participated in the game‑room task force, told the council the electronic‑device bill would let prosecutors pursue gambling devices by classifying them as “electronic amusement devices” and provide a civil or misdemeanor‑level enforcement tool in lieu of felony prosecution.

“This bill will allow us to pursue gambling devices as electronic amusement devices and give us another tool to combat the game rooms,” Huntington said.

Community speakers described persistent neighborhood impacts. Alan Cardenas Jr. and others from the Leeward Coast testified that game rooms have contributed to crime clustering, and school staff and parents had previously urged action because children regularly pass problem establishments. Council member Tupelo, citing testimony from Kalihiuka Elementary School, said the bills respond to daily exposure children face across multiple neighborhoods.

Testimony included a range of views. Some speakers urged broader anti‑gambling efforts; others asked that enforcement be targeted to the most affected neighborhoods. Angela Melody Young of CARES testified she was neutral on some provisions but urged focused task forces and resources for economically distressed districts that see disproportionate proliferation of game rooms.

Shelby Billionaire and other community testifiers offered strongly worded anecdotes in support of enforcement; Deborah King and other written testifiers expressed strong support as well. One speaker asked the council to consider the federal Johnson Act when defining illegal machines; that federal statute was suggested as a drafting reference but was not incorporated by rule at the meeting.

Council action: Bill 11 (electronic amusement devices) was amended in committee to change several ROH subsections and lower the per‑business device limit in one section from “20 or fewer” to “19 or fewer” for a specific classification; the committee’s hand‑carried FD1 also incorporated non‑substantive edits and passed third reading. Bill 12 and Bill 13 addressing gambling‑related public‑nuisance enforcement also passed third reading after discussion and public comment.

What it means: The new city regulations create a permitting/enforcement path targeted at small retail establishments and storefronts that host electronic gaming devices. Prosecutors and HPD have said the measure is intended to be a tool to address localized problems without forcing felony cases in every instance; local advocates and council members said the measures will be used to target repeat problem locations, especially near schools.

Next steps: Implementation will require coordination between HPD, the prosecuting attorney’s office, the Department of Planning and Permitting and community groups. Some testifiers recommended clear deployment of enforcement task forces in neighborhoods with high proliferation of game rooms.