Hong Kong: gambling regulation and licensing
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Part of China
- Online sports bettingMonopoly
- Horse race bettingMonopoly
- iLotteryMonopoly
- Online casinoProhibited
- Online pokerProhibited
- Prediction marketsGrey market
- Regulator
- Home and Youth Affairs Bureau
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Yes
- Last verified
- 30 Aug 2026
Summary
Hong Kong permits gambling only where the Government has expressly authorised it, and it has authorised very little. The Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148) prohibits gaming, betting and bookmaking outside the exemptions, and the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108) supplies the exemptions: horse race betting, football betting and the Mark Six lottery, all run by The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which is the only lawful bookmaker in the territory. Policy sits with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, advised by the Betting and Lotteries Commission, with the Ping Wo Fund financing problem gambling services. Duty is heavy: 72.5 to 75 per cent of net stake receipts on horse racing, 50 per cent on football and 25 per cent of proceeds on the lottery. The statutory gambling age is 18. There is no casino gaming and no online casino route, and using a foreign gambling service from Hong Kong is itself an offence.
Key facts
- Regulator
- Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB)
- Regulator type
- Government ministry
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Yes
- Minimum age
- 18+
- Tax base
- Betting duty is charged under the Betting Duty Ordinance on net stake receipts for betting and on proceeds for lotteries. The Government told the Legislative Council in February 2023 that duty on horse race betting runs from 72.5 per cent to 75 per cent of net stake receipts on a progressive basis, football betting is charged at 50 per cent of net stake receipts, and lotteries, meaning the Mark Six, are charged at 25 per cent of proceeds. The Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 sets basketball betting duty at 50 per cent of net profits, but that product has not launched. No gross-revenue rate is recorded on this jurisdiction because there is no commercial online market to which one would apply.
- Currency
- HKD
- Official languages
- Chinese, English
Legal framework
Primary statutes
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- The primary statute. Gambling, defined to include gaming, betting and bookmaking, is prohibited except where authorised under the Betting Duty Ordinance, licensed, or within the social gambling exemption. The Mondaq comparative guide records penalties of up to HK$5 million and 7 years imprisonment for operating an unlawful gambling establishment or bookmaking, escalating fines and short custodial terms for gambling in an unauthorised venue, and up to HK$1 million and 10 years for cheating at gambling. The Ordinance makes no specific reference to online or remote gambling.
Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108)
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Authorises betting on horse races and football matches and the Mark Six lottery, establishes the Betting and Lotteries Commission, and charges betting duty. It is the instrument that makes The Hong Kong Jockey Club the only lawful bookmaker in Hong Kong.
Key amendments
- 10 Sept 2025The Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025, legalising betting on basketball, was gazetted in June 2025 and passed by the Legislative Council in September 2025. It provides for the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau to issue an exclusive licence to The Hong Kong Jockey Club on the football betting model, with duty of 50 per cent of net profits. Implementation was halted in mid-April 2026: the Government said it was not an appropriate time to introduce a new betting product, citing the risk of drawing more people into illegal gambling and pending a deeper review of overseas prediction market platforms. Basketball betting is therefore enacted but not live.
Pending legislation
Commencement of basketball betting under the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025
- Stage
- Passed by the Legislative Council in September 2025; commencement deferred by the Government in mid-April 2026
- What it changes
- Would add basketball to the authorised betting products offered by The Hong Kong Jockey Club under an exclusive licence, taxed at 50 per cent of net profits. Launch had been expected around September 2026 to coincide with the NBA pre-season before the deferral.
Licensing
- Licence required
- Yes
- Application window
- Not yet verified
- Local establishment required
- Not yet verified
- Local server required
- Not yet verified
- Barriers to entry
- Hong Kong runs no competitive licensing regime. There is no application route for a commercial online casino, sportsbook or lottery, and no prospect of one. Everything lawful runs through a single authorised operator, and using a foreign gambling service from Hong Kong is itself an offence.
Licence types
Authorisation as a bookmaker under the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108)
- Scope
- Horse race betting, football betting and the Mark Six lottery. Held by The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which the Mondaq guide describes as the only racing club and legal bookmaker authorised by the government.
Licence for gaming activities authorised by a public officer under the Gambling Ordinance
- Scope
- Limited licensed gaming, for example mahjong parlours, authorised by the public officer appointed by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs.
Taxation
- Headline GGR tax
- Not yet verified
- Effective date
- Not yet verified
- Tax base
- Betting duty is charged under the Betting Duty Ordinance on net stake receipts for betting and on proceeds for lotteries. The Government told the Legislative Council in February 2023 that duty on horse race betting runs from 72.5 per cent to 75 per cent of net stake receipts on a progressive basis, football betting is charged at 50 per cent of net stake receipts, and lotteries, meaning the Mark Six, are charged at 25 per cent of proceeds. The Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 sets basketball betting duty at 50 per cent of net profits, but that product has not launched. No gross-revenue rate is recorded on this jurisdiction because there is no commercial online market to which one would apply.
Compliance
- Minimum age
- 18+
- National self-exclusion
- Not yet verified
- KYC requirements
- Not yet verified
- Stake limits
- Not yet verified
Advertising
- Advertising permitted
- No
- Penalties for breach
- Promotion of unlawful gambling is dealt with under the Gambling Ordinance rather than through an advertising code, so exposure is criminal rather than regulatory.
Restrictions
- The Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148) prohibits gaming, betting and bookmaking outside the statutory exemptions, and promoting gambling that falls outside those exemptions is caught by the same prohibition.
- The lawful exemptions under the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108) are horse race betting, football betting and the Mark Six lottery, all operated by The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
- The Jockey Club is the only lawful bookmaker in the territory, so it is the only entity with lawful products to promote.
- Online casino and online poker are prohibited, and advertising offshore operators to Hong Kong consumers has no lawful basis.
- Policy sits with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, advised by the Betting and Lotteries Commission.
Enforcement
- ISP blocking
- Not yet verified
- DNS blocking
- Not yet verified
- Payment blocking
- Not yet verified
- App store takedowns
- Not yet verified
- Operator liability
- Operating an unlawful gambling establishment or acting as a bookmaker without authorisation carries penalties of up to HK$5 million and 7 years imprisonment per the Mondaq comparative guide.
- Player liability
- Yes. The Mondaq comparative guide records that a user in Hong Kong commits an offence by using a foreign gambling service, though it notes the practical difficulty of enforcing against the foreign operator itself. Treat marketing aimed at Hong Kong residents as exposing the player as well as the operator.
Outlook
The live question is basketball. The Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 passed in September 2025 and would have given the Jockey Club an exclusive basketball betting licence taxed at 50 per cent of net profits, with launch expected around the NBA pre-season in September 2026. In mid-April 2026 the Government halted implementation, saying it was not an appropriate time and pointing to the rapid growth of overseas prediction market platforms associated with illegal sports betting. That deferral makes Hong Kong the clearest case in Asia of prediction markets reshaping a domestic gambling policy decision, and the boundary between an investment product and unlawful gambling is still untested in the courts.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is allowed to take bets in Hong Kong?
- Only The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which is authorised under the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108) to offer horse race betting, football betting and the Mark Six lottery.
- Is basketball betting legal in Hong Kong?
- The law authorising it passed in September 2025, but the Government halted implementation in mid-April 2026 pending a review of overseas prediction market platforms. No basketball betting product is live.
Sources
- Policy Responsibilities - District, Community and Public Relations - Gambling
Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, Government of the Hong Kong SAR
Tier 1Accessed 5 Aug 2026 - LCQ6: Betting duty (Legislative Council question and reply, 15 February 2023)
Information Services Department, Government of the Hong Kong SAR
Tier 1Accessed 5 Aug 2026Published 15 Feb 2023 - LCQ5: Curbing young people participation in gambling (18 August 2021)
Information Services Department, Government of the Hong Kong SAR
Confirms 18 as the existing statutory age for legal gambling and records the Government rejecting a rise to 21, but does not name the Ordinance and section that sets the age.
Tier 1Accessed 5 Aug 2026Published 18 Aug 2021 - Cap. 148 Gambling Ordinance
Hong Kong e-Legislation, Department of Justice
Cited as the official statute. The page renders through client-side script and returned no legislative text at review, so no section number or penalty recorded here rests on a direct read of the Ordinance. The detail comes from the HYAB policy page and the Mondaq comparative guide.
Tier 1Accessed 5 Aug 2026 - Hong Kong Gambling Comparative Guide
Mondaq
Names the Home Affairs Bureau as the policy body; that bureau was reorganised as the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, which is the name used here and on the current government page.
Tier 3Accessed 5 Aug 2026 - Gambling legislation: Brakes on Hong Kong basketball betting in light of growth of prediction markets
Johnson Stokes & Master (Mayer Brown)
Tier 3Accessed 5 Aug 2026