HONG KONG, Sept 11 — Hong Kong has officially legalised betting on basketball games, hoping to dribble past the city’s illegal gambling scene.
As reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Hong Kong Jockey Club is expected to be the sole licensed operator running the show.
Lawmakers passed the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 on Thursday, giving the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs the power to hand out basketball betting licences — with some ground rules, of course.
The bill also permits licensed basketball betting operators to place bets with other gambling entities as a risk management strategy.
The bill was approved on Thursday after two rounds of committee review in July, with 77 lawmakers voting in favour, two abstaining, and two opposing.
During the debate, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen told legislators that legalising basketball betting is a way to meet public demand — and more importantly, to stop punters from turning to shady operators.
“Providing legal betting channels meets public demand and helps prevent bettors from turning to illegal operators,” she was quoted as saying by SCMP.
