Hong Kong legislators have passed The Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 which will see basketball betting legalised, according to various reports.
A February report from the South China Morning Post said the Hong Kong government was considering legalising basketball betting, which could raise more than HK$26bn in revenue if it had the same 50% duty as football.
The legislation will grant the secretary for home and youth affairs, Alice Mak, the power to issue a betting licence to the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Talking to reporters after the passing of the bill, the Hong Kong Free Press quoted Mak saying the government will also move ahead with educating the population around legal gambling.
Mak said: “We will not stop here. To combat illegal gambling, we will continue educational and promotional efforts, as well as conduct tough enforcement actions.”
Nixie Lam, another lawmaker who voted for the bill, was quoted by the Hong Kong Free Press as saying: “Illegal gambling platforms have become omnipresent in society through the internet.
“It’s very easy to be exposed to them with a mobile phone in your hand.”
However, the Hong Kong Free Press added that education representative Chu Kwok-keung, who voted against the bill, highlighted the 2003 legalisation of football betting ushered in a younger gambling demographic.
Chu added: “Meanwhile illegal [football] gambling and associated syndicates are still rampant… it’s obvious that regulating betting cannot solve the problem.”
The HKJC already offers horseracing, football and its lottery product Mark Six.
During the Club’s 2024 fiscal year presentation, CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said that expanding its licence into basketball would help combat illegal operators.
The post Report: Hong Kong government passes bill to legalise basketball betting first appeared on EGR Intel.
Secretary for home and youth affairs Alice Mak to grant Hong Kong Jockey Club the power to expand its offerings
The post Report: Hong Kong government passes bill to legalise basketball betting first appeared on EGR Intel.