The Hong Kong government is considering the legalisation of basketball betting in order to tackle illegal gambling, the financial chief Paul Chan has said, as the city tackles a huge budget deficit.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), which already hosts betting on horse racing and football matches, will submit a proposal on basketball gambling to the government, Chan said as he delivered the 2025 Budget at the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the chief executive of HKJC, told the Standard last year that 150,000-odd speculators who illegally bet on basketball matches could be brought onto legal channels.
Hong Kong currently imposes a duty on horse racing of between 72.5 – 75 per cent on a progressive basis, and 50 per cent for football matches.
“In recent years, some members of the general public have expressed concerns about the problem of illegal basketball betting in Hong Kong,” Chan said in Cantonese, adding that in order to combat illegal gambling.
According to estimates from the HKJC, the turnover for illegal basketball betting reached HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion last year.
HKFP learned from government sources on Wednesday that the authorities aim to roll out a public consultation for legalising basketball betting by the end of the year.
Betty duty increase
In 2022, the HKJC paid HK$14.1 billion in betting duty for horse racing to the government, and HK$9.8 billion in betting duty on football matches, according to a legislature report.
In the 2023 Budget, Chan announced that the government would tax the HKJC by an extra HK$2.4 billion annually for the coming five years to boost government income, as authorities recorded a deficit of HK$140 billion in 2022-23.
The HKJC said in a statement in early 2023 that it held “strong reservation on any increase in betting duty rates,” adding that such taxes are “already the highest in the world.”
“Any permanent hike in betting duty rates will create structural problems irreversibly damaging the Club’s successful integrated business model and continued competitiveness, while benefiting only illegal and offshore betting operators,” the statement read.
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Stay tuned to HKFP for full, trusted coverage of the 2025 budget.
Hong Kong will cut government spending by 7 per cent over the coming three years, Chan said, as the city logged an estimated HK$87.2 billion deficit.
