Hong Kong Officials Give the Green Light to Basketball Betting

Hong Kong has officially passed legislation that would usher in regulated basketball betting, expanding the territory’s legal betting options.

A Historic Moment for the Region

Earlier this year, Hong Kong lawmakers put forward a proposal for the legalization of basketball betting. The measure, which has now officially passed, will amend the betting laws to allow for the wagering of basketball games.

The latest measure, Betting Duty Bill 2025, was approved with 77 votes in favor, 2 votes against and 2 abstentions. This means that Hong Kong will now move toward creating a regulated basketball betting framework, not unlike the existing soccer betting framework.

The special administrative region has been mostly conservative when it comes to gambling. However, since 2003, Hong Kong authorities have allowed government-sanctioned wagering on soccer events, in addition to the horseracing bets and lottery games offered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Officials Say an Official Alternative Would Undermine the Black Market

Under the Betting Duty Bill 2025, Hong Kong will provide the Hong Kong Jockey Club with a basketball betting license, allowing it to offer wagers on the sport.

In the meantime, the law will apply a 50% tax rate on basketball bets, mirroring the rate for soccer bets. Previous projections implied that basketball betting could generate as much as $260 million in tax revenue. While this will create an additional revenue stream, Hong Kong authorities firmly rejected that as the primary motivation for the legalization of basketball betting. Instead, officials hope to prevent money from leaking into the black market.

For context, the Hong Kong Jockey Club previously estimated that the illegal basketball betting sector attracted as many as 430,000 locals who wagered as much as $12 billion with unlicensed sportsbooks.

Lawmakers agreed that creating a safer and taxed alternative would minimize the black market’s influence, respond to the popular demand for sports betting products, and prevent money from being lost to illicit gaming companies.

In addition to creating a basketball betting framework, the latest bill envisions a variety of safer gambling measures to shield younger sports fans from harm. Despite that, some lawmakers remained unconvinced, arguing that legalizing more forms of betting could expose younger sports fans to a higher risk of gambling harm.

As of the time of this writing, Hong Kong officials have yet to announce an official launch date for basketball betting.