Hong Kong’s legislature has passed a bill that legalises basketball betting in the city, with most lawmakers voting in favour of the government’s proposal to impose a 50 per cent duty on net profits while stepping up measures to combat illegal gambling.
Lawmakers on Thursday approved the bill 77 to two in the legislature, with two abstaining from the vote. The bill would establish a regulatory regime for basketball betting that mirrors the existing one for football betting, which was legalised in 2003.
Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak would be granted the power to issue a basketball betting license to the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) and impose conditions to ensure responsible gambling.
Mak said on Thursday that legalising basketball betting would channel money away from illegal gambling sites and into regulated platforms, but added that the government’s policy was not to promote gambling.
“We will not stop here. To combat illegal gambling, we will continue educational and promotional efforts, as well as conduct tough enforcement actions,” she told reporters in Cantonese after the vote.
The HKJC estimated that, in 2024, the market turnover for illegal basketball betting ranged between HK$70 billion and HK$90 billion, with around 430,000 residents having wagered in the sport illegally, according to a report submitted to the legislative.
‘One more avenue for gambling’
Most lawmakers on Thursday echoed the government’s position, saying that legalising basketball betting could effectively regulate society’s existing demand for betting in the sport and prevent residents from turning to illegal bookmakers.
“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,” Nixie Lam said in Cantonese during the legislative meeting on Thursday. Lam is among the 77 lawmakers who voted for the bill.
But the minority view argued that legalising basketball betting would in effect promote gambling in society.
Chu Kwok-keung, representing the education sector, said the legalisation of football betting in 2003 had only led to rising gambling proceeds year after year and a gambling population that tended to become younger.
“Meanwhile illegal [football] gambling and associated syndicates are still rampant… it’s obvious that regulating betting cannot solve the problem,” Chu, who voted against the bill, said in Cantonese.
“Legalising basketball betting, to put it bluntly, is simply opening one more avenue for gambling.”
Tik Chi-yuen, the only other lawmaker who voted against the bill, also said that legalisation of basketball betting would promote the culture of gambling.
“The government should crack down on illegal gambling, not compete with criminal syndicates for profits,” Tik said in Cantonese.
The government says the proportion of people aged 18 or below seeking help from four existing counselling centres for individuals with gambling addictions has remained low in the past decade.
Mak said on Thursday that a new centre dedicated to promoting anti-excessive gambling messages to the youth will be set up, but did not provide a timetable.
The proposal to legalise basketball gambling was first raised by Financial Secretary Paul Chan during his 2025 budget speech in February.
The plan was unveiled against the backdrop of a years-long fiscal deficit in Hong Kong, with Chan estimating at that time that legalising basketball betting could generate HK$1.5 billion to HK$2 billion in tax revenue.
