HKJC expects legal basketball betting revenue could reach $3.57B, bill to be debated on July 2nd

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is anticipating that it will take “a few years to successfully divert a portion of the basketball betting demand to the regulated market”.

The comment was tabled in a bill amendment proposed by Hong Kong’s Executive Council, by order of the Chief Executive, with the Legislative Council, as the SAR aims to expand its current sports betting options beyond football and horse racing.

According to figures from the HKJC cited in a proposed amendment to the betting duty, the number of illegal basketball bettors in 2024 was around 430,000, up by 186 percent yearly.

The illegal market turnover for basketball betting the same year was estimated to be up to HK$90 billion ($11.47 billion).

Given the results of a public consultation on the issue, and strong correspondence with HKJC, authorities are proposing that legislation be altered to ‘establish a regulatory regime for basketball betting by modelling on the existing regime for football betting’.

Under the proposed changes, the HKJC would have the sole license for basketball betting, with the betting duty to be set at 50 percent of the net stake receipts.

While authorities say that the proposal ‘is not to generate Government revenue’, it does state that the HKJC estimates that when ramped up the ‘annual turnover of authorized basketball betting will be around HK$28 billion ($3.57 billion)’, meaning the government could receive a duty of around HK$1.5 billion ($191 million) annually.

Given the publication of the proposed bill amendment in the government Gazette on Friday, the First Reading and commencement of the Second Reading Debate are now set for July 2^nd, with later dates to be set for the ongoing debate, committee stage and Third Reading of the bill.

Under the current proposal, there would be numerous conditions:

• The licensing period must have a fixed duration;
• The government may impose restrictions on the number of bet types and classes of competitions;
• The licensee must not accept bets on basketball matches involving Hong Kong teams or matches that take place in Hong Kong;
• No bets from juveniles can be accepted;
• No credit betting can be accepted;
• The licensee must display notices to the public on the seriousness of excessive gambling and provide information on services available for those with gambling disorders.

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary has expressed support in his 2025-26 Budget Speech for exploring regulating basketball betting activities, aiming to stop out illegal betting – particularly online.

According to reports, the HKJC is hopeful that legislation to legalize basketball betting could be passed as early as September of this year.