Hong Kong's Government consulted lawmakers on its plan to regulate basketball betting at the Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, Culture and Sport on 9 June 2025, where members generally supported the proposal1. The consultation was part of the groundwork for the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025, which the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mak Mei-kuen, moved to read a second time on 2 July 20251.
The Government said it held a one-month consultation on the proposal in April 2025, and that more than 90 percent of responses supported regulating basketball betting1.
The bill would create a regulatory framework for basketball betting. It would empower the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs to issue basketball betting licenses and set license conditions, apply the existing football betting duty method of 50 percent of net stake receipts as basketball betting duty, and extend the functions of the Betting and Lotteries Commission to cover basketball betting licensing1. If passed, the Government would issue a single basketball betting license to the Jockey Club, following the horse racing and football betting model, which it said avoids stimulating demand through competition between operators1.
The Government set out license conditions it intends to impose:
| Condition | Detail |
|---|---|
| Licence validity | The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs may set the license period1 |
| Betting scope | Limits on the types of bets and the number of events1 |
| Hong Kong events | The Jockey Club may not accept bets on events involving Hong Kong teams or basketball matches held in Hong Kong1 |
| Age and credit | No bets from people under 18, and no credit card betting1 |
The Government also said it has asked the Jockey Club to increase its donations to the Ping Wo Fund and to set up a new center focused on counseling and support for young people, in addition to the four counseling centers currently funded1.
"我們已在六月九日的立法會民政及文化體育事務委員會上，就這項立法建議諮詢議員的意見。議員普遍支持建議，並支持政府向立法會提交《條例草案》。"
What it means for players
Basketball betting in Hong Kong is not currently regulated under a dedicated license, and the Government describes the illegal market as large1. If the bill passes, legal basketball betting would run through a single Jockey Club license rather than multiple operators1. Bets on games involving Hong Kong teams and on basketball matches held in Hong Kong would not be accepted, and operators would be barred from taking bets from under-18s or by credit card1. The Government has not reported the license start date, the permitted bet types, or which overseas leagues would be covered.
What happens next
The bill was moved for second reading on 2 July 20251. The Government said it would work with the Legislative Council on scrutiny and asked members to support the bill1. If passed, it said it would work with the Jockey Club, the Police, the Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee, the Gambling and Lotteries Commission and other stakeholders to implement the regime1.
Sources1 sources
- 立法會：民政及青年事務局局長就《2025年博彩稅（修訂）條例草案》動議二讀發言全文（只有中文）, info.gov.hk
