The Hong Kong government is mulling whether to expand the number of sports available for betting in the city-region from two to three, a move which could change a long-standing policy.
Gambling in Hong Kong has been limited to two sports, football and horse racing, in addition to lotteries, since a legislative act in 1977. All three activities are strictly limited to the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), which makes private bookmakers illegal.
This week, the government announced that it will launch a consultation on whether the HKJC should add betting on basketball to its product portfolio. The possibility of regulating basketball betting had already been mentioned in Hong Kong’s 2025-26 budget, published in February.
In addition, both the HKJC and Betting and Lotteries Commission (BLC) seem to be very much in favour of a move. The duo that first proposed the idea to the government, based on the idea it will curb illegal betting on the sport, shortly after the budget review announcement last month.
The Jockey Club claims that the turnover of illegal basketball betting was between HK$70bn-$90bn ($7.91bn-$11.44bn) as of 2024. Converting this illegal turnover into legal HKJC revenue will both present a lucrative revenue stream for the Hong Kong government and enable better control and regulation of the basketball betting markets.
A spokesman for the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) asserted that “as a matter of policy, the government does not encourage gambling” and is committed to a “multipronged strategy to address gambling-related issues”.
“There is, however, undeniably an actual and persistent demand for gambling in Hong Kong which, if left unregulated, would likely give rise to illegal gambling activities and associated social problems and other criminal activities,” the HYAB statement added.
“As such, the Government adopts a pragmatic approach by allowing only a limited number of authorised gambling outlets, which includes authorising the HKJC to conduct horse race betting, Mark Six Lottery and football betting in accordance with the Betting Duty Ordinance.”
In another boost to the HKJC, the government has also decided to extend its football betting licence – as stated above the only football betting licence issued in Hong Kong – for a further five years.
The extension of the HKJC’s betting portfolio would also put the market situation in Hong Kong further at odds with that of mainland China, where all forms of gambling remain strictly illegal. The only other region in China that allows gaming is Macau, which like Hong Kong has an autonomous government.
Although mainland China is heavily anti-gambling, Macau is one of the biggest casino hubs in East Asia – although there were some concerns about the political positions of the island’s new Chief Executive earlier this year, with the politician expressing a desire to see the region become less reliant on gaming revenue.
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