Police dismantle six major illegal gambling syndicates

The Hong Kong Police Force dismantled six major local gambling syndicates in intelligence-led operations between 2024 and February 2025, arresting 107 people and seizing around HKD 2 billion worth of betting records linked to illicit sports wagering and online casino games¹. The figure was set out in the government's consultation document on a proposed regulatory regime for basketball betting, published in April 2025¹.

The document describes illegal online gambling operations as frequently linked to local and transnational organized crime networks, and as possible hubs for fraud, money laundering and coercive debt collection¹. It says enforcement targets not only syndicate leaders and platform operators but also lower-tier participants such as agents and stooge account holders¹. The police force also works with INTERPOL and other international law enforcement agencies, sharing intelligence and conducting joint operations, and investigates illegal gambling websites both inside and outside Hong Kong¹.

The same document sets out the scale of the illegal market the operations are meant to address. According to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, around 100 000 to 150 000 Hong Kong bettors bet illegally on basketball in 2023, a 68% year-on-year increase, with estimated annual illegal betting turnover of HKD 32 billion to HKD 34 billion¹. In 2024, the number of illegal basketball bettors rose 186% to about 430 000 Hong Kong residents, and estimated market turnover was around HKD 70 billion to HKD 90 billion, up 119% to 165% year on year².

The government's wider gambling policy allows only a limited number of authorized outlets: horse racing, football betting and Mark Six Lottery, all run by the Jockey Club, plus activities such as mahjong parlors authorized under the Gambling Ordinance¹. The Jockey Club has been the only licensed operator under the Betting Duty Ordinance, a position the document attributes to a wish to avoid competition among operators stimulating betting demand¹.

What it means for players

Betting in Hong Kong remains restricted to a small set of authorized outlets run by the Jockey Club, and the syndicates broken up in these operations were operating outside that framework¹. The seized records relate to illegal sports wagering and online casino games, not to the Jockey Club's licensed products¹. The document states that illegal online gambling operations are frequently tied to organized crime and may support fraud, money laundering and coercive debt collection, and that enforcement reaches agents and account holders as well as operators¹. For anyone weighing where to bet in the territory, the Hong Kong guide sets out the licensed channels, and the gambling law overview covers how the 12 jurisdictions in the region treat illegal and offshore betting sites.

What happens next

The consultation document proposes a regulatory regime for basketball betting modeled on the existing football betting regime, which would require amendments to the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108)¹. Under the proposal, the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs would license a single basketball betting operator, and the government says a license would go to the Jockey Club if basketball betting is approved². License conditions would include a ban on accepting bets from minors and on credit card betting². Operators would need prior approval from the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs to offer betting on any basketball event involving a Hong Kong team, wherever it is held, or any basketball event held in Hong Kong². The consultation closed for submissions on 2 May 2025¹. The document says that depending on the outcome, the government would work with the Jockey Club, the police force, the Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee and other stakeholders on implementation, and would ask the Jockey Club to increase its donations to the Ping Wo Fund².