Hong Kong and Macau Gambling for Visitors

Hong Kong and Macau side by side

The two cities could hardly be more different as gambling destinations, and knowing the difference before you travel saves a wasted trip.

Hong Kong has no casinos at all. What it does have is the Hong Kong Jockey Club, one of the largest betting operators in the world, offering horse racing betting, football betting and the Mark Six lottery. Beyond that, the government licenses a small number of other activities, such as mahjong parlors, and exempts mainly social gambling played at home. Everything else is off the table¹.

Macau, by contrast, is the only location in China offering legalized casino gaming². Casinos there are open 24 hours a day⁹, they serve international food alongside the gaming floors⁹, and free casino shuttle buses meet you at every border entry point and at some tourist hotspots¹⁰. If casinos are the purpose of your trip, Macau is the destination; if you are staying in Hong Kong, your legal betting is the Jockey Club counter or the racecourse.

The two systems also differ on age, online play and money, and each of those is covered below.

Hong Kong: what you can legally bet on and where

Hong Kong's gambling policy confines betting to a small number of regulated channels. The legal options are:

• Horse racing betting, run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Happy Valley and Sha Tin racecourses and at off-course betting branches
• Football betting, also run by the Jockey Club
• Mark Six lottery, the Jockey Club's numbers draw
• Licensed mahjong parlors, approved by the government
• Exempted social gambling, mainly bets among friends at home¹

The Jockey Club defines its own legal betting activities as betting connected with horse races, football matches and lotteries conducted in Hong Kong⁷. You can bet in person at branches, at the racecourses, by telephone or through the Jockey Club's own online channels.

What you cannot do is bet with anyone else. Betting with illegal or overseas bookmakers is against the law, and offenders may be liable to imprisonment¹¹. This includes bookmakers in Macau: under the Gambling Ordinance it is illegal for a person in Hong Kong to place a bet with any unauthorized bookmaker, irrespective of where the bet is received, and the government has confirmed there is no two-way betting arrangement that would let you bet in Hong Kong on Macau races¹². So a Hong Kong resident cannot legally use a Macau betting shop or a Macau racing outlet while physically in Hong Kong.

Some international offshore casino websites do not accept Hong Kong players at all, while others allow sign-ups but restrict certain games or payment options¹³. That is a company choice, not a legal permission; the position for players is covered in the online section below.

Macau: the only place in China where casinos are legal

Macau's special status goes back decades. The city's gaming concession has included famous venues such as Casino Lisboa, Macau Palace Casino, Jai Alai Casino, Kam Pek Casino, Oriental Casino, Golden Dragon Casino, Hyatt Casino, Triumph Casino and Holiday Inn Casino under the old concession contract¹⁴, and today's resort names, such as the Venetian Macao, MGM Cotai, Wynn Palace and City of Dreams, carry the industry forward.

Casinos are open 24 hours⁹, and many have restaurants serving international cuisine, so a visit can combine the gaming floors with a good meal⁹. Free shuttle buses arranged by the casinos run from all border entry points and some tourist hotspots, so getting from the ferry terminal, the bridge or the Border Gate to a casino costs nothing¹⁰.

The permitted games are fixed by law. Macau allows 24 named games of fortune in its casinos:

• Baccarat and "railway" baccarat
• Blackjack (twenty-one)
• Twenty-five doors
• Craps
• Sic bo and fish-prawn-crab sic bo
• Twelve numbers
• Fan tan
• Chinese poker (thirteen cards)
• Mahjong, mahjong baccarat and mahjong pai gow
• Pinball machines
• Pai gow and small pai gow
• Fu gui san gong
• Five-card poker
• Roulette
• Eleven- or twelve-card betting
• Neuf galets
• Taiwan pai gow
• San gong baccarat¹⁵

Baccarat dominates the floors, and it is the game most visitors come for. Live poker is legal in licensed casinos, though in 2026 the active poker rooms are limited to the Venetian Macao, MGM Cotai and Wynn Palace¹⁶.

Entry to Macau itself depends on who you are. Visitors from mainland China require an Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) permit, a system in place since 2003¹⁷. Most international visitors, including US, UK and EU passport holders, enjoy visa-free entry for 30 to 90 days¹⁶. If you are planning the paperwork for a casino trip more broadly, see our page on visas for a casino trip.

Minimum ages compared: 18 in Hong Kong, 21 in Macau

The two cities set different bars, and the gap catches people out.

In Hong Kong, gambling is restricted to those aged 18 and above³. The government has confirmed the legal gambling age is set at 18¹⁸, and persons under 18 may not take part in legal gambling¹⁹.

In Macau, the legal age of entry to casinos is 21⁴. This was raised from 18 by Law No. 10/2012, which bars persons under 21 from entering casinos²². The same law also covers who may work on the gaming floors²³.

One nuance: not all Macau betting carries the casino age. Horse racing, football and basketball betting in Macau kept a legal participation age of 18¹⁹. But since horse racing in Macau has ended (see the events section), the age that matters to almost every visitor is the casino age of 21.

If you are traveling with family, our page on casino resorts with children explains where minors may and may not go.

Online casinos are illegal for players in both cities

Neither city lets you play casino games online, and the rule applies to you wherever the site is based.

In Hong Kong, online casinos and online e-sports gambling platforms are neither licensed nor exempted, so betting with them is illegal. This holds even if the gambling website is registered overseas⁵. The only legal online betting in Hong Kong is what the Jockey Club itself offers⁵. Casino-style gambling in general, including land-based casinos, online casino games and live dealer casinos, is not legal in Hong Kong¹³.

In Macau, the position is the same in practice: online games of fortune have not been authorized⁶. Online poker is currently illegal and unlicensed in Macau as well¹⁶.

The practical risk is simple: playing on an offshore site from either city is illegal for you as the player, and you have no local protection if the site refuses to pay.

Currencies and money: HKD works in both cities

The Hong Kong dollar is the thread that ties the two cities together.

In Hong Kong, all Jockey Club betting is in HKD. Football bets must be made and settled in Hong Kong currency⁷, and all lottery entries must be made and settled in Hong Kong currency as well⁸. Cash at the counter means notes or coins in Hong Kong dollars.

In Macau, the local currency is the pataca, but Hong Kong dollars circulate widely and are accepted in casinos and shops. Macau's own sports betting operator, Macau Slot, even runs its accounts in HKD: since January 25, 2019, customers of its banking partners have been able to make instant, free-of-charge transfers from their HKD bank accounts to their betting accounts²⁴.

For a wider look at changing money, cards and ATMs on a casino trip, see money for a casino trip, and if you are carrying large sums across the ferry or the bridge, check how much cash you can carry across borders.

What happens to your winnings at tax time

The good news for players is that in neither city are your winnings taxed at the point of payout.

In Hong Kong, the Inland Revenue Department does not charge betting duty on winners of ordinary lucky draw activities and does not issue betting duty documents to winners²⁵. Winnings from Jockey Club bets are paid out in full.

In Macau, poker winnings, both cash game and tournament, are generally tax-free for players¹⁶. The special gaming tax that funds the Macau government is levied on the concessionaires' revenue, not on individual players.

Two caveats are worth knowing. First, Macau law is harsh on people who are banned from gaming: bets placed by prohibited persons, and anything they win, are forfeited to the Macau SAR²³. Second, if you win a lottery in mainland China, for example while staying in Zhuhai or elsewhere in Guangdong, lottery winnings count as occasional income under the Individual Income Tax Law and are taxed on each amount won²⁶.

Casinos, shows and events to plan around in Macau

Macau is not just gaming floors. A few things to plan around:

Horse racing has ended. The Macau Jockey Club's concession was terminated by agreement on April 1, 2024, and horse racing activities ceased from that date. The club had cited operational difficulties and the inability of horse racing to meet current development needs, and racing's appeal to residents and tourists had been declining for years²⁰. The old Taipa course no longer hosts races, though the club's history included broadcast days of racing from Hong Kong, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays²⁷. If you want racing on your trip, do it in Hong Kong; our page on going to the races as a tourist covers admission and betting.

Shows and events in late 2026. The shows and events running in Macau in late 2026 are set out below.

Getting around. Free shuttle buses arranged by the casinos run from all border entry points and some tourist hotspots, so you can reach most major venues without paying for a taxi¹⁰. Many casinos also have restaurants serving international cuisine, so you can eat without leaving the property.

Peak periods. Casino floors and border crossings are busiest at Chinese New Year and the Golden Week holidays; see our page on peak travel periods at casino destinations before you book.

Self-exclusion and player protections in Macau

Macau runs one of the more developed player protection systems in Asia, and it is open to visitors as well as residents.

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) operates a self-exclusion and third-party exclusion program covering all or some of the casinos in Macao, at the applicant's choice²⁸. Any person may apply²⁹. During the enforced exclusion period, the excluded person is prohibited from entering or staying at all or some of the casinos in the Macao Special Administrative Region³⁰. An excluded person may choose to accept or decline counseling services from problem gambling prevention bodies²⁹.

Applications can be made in two ways. If submitted through any Macau casino, DICJ verifies the excluded person's details and the person must attend the DICJ office in person²⁹. Alternatively, Macao citizens and tourists can now submit a self-exclusion application on their own through the Responsible Gaming Information Kiosks, which allow self-service filing at kiosk locations around the city³¹. The program is open to Macau residents and tourists aged 21 or older³².

Hong Kong has its own protections on the Jockey Club side, including deposit limits and cooling-off tools, and the Jockey Club's responsible gambling pages set out how to use them³. For a broader view of how residency status changes your access to gambling across the region, see expats vs tourists: casino rules.