Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed the Amended Betting Duty Bill of 2025 at its third reading on 11 September, approving a legal framework for betting on professional basketball. The law gives the Hong Kong Jockey Club licensing rights and applies the existing soccer-betting rules, including a 50% tax on net stake receipts.
The bill establishes the licensing and tax framework for legal basketball betting in Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong’s government has delayed the planned launch of legal basketball betting, which had been scheduled for September, citing uncertainty around prediction markets. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak said passing the law did not require licences to be issued on a fixed timetable; the government said it would study the emerging platforms further, with no new launch date announced.
Hong Kong's Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said the government had stopped plans to introduce basketball betting, citing the rapid growth of prediction markets. The government said it would study the sector's effects before reconsidering the proposal; officials did not rule out a later launch.
Hong Kong's Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said the government had paused preparations for basketball betting while it studies prediction markets. The Hong Kong Jockey Club said it would comply and await further guidance on its licence application; the government said it considered sports betting through prediction markets illegal gambling. Officials cited global trading volume rising from US$16bn in 2024 to US$64bn in 2025.
Hong Kong lawmakers passed the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 on 11 September, with 77 votes in favour, two against and two abstentions. The law sets a 50% duty on net basketball betting profits and authorises the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs to issue a licence to the Hong Kong Jockey Club; the launch date has not been given, and the final ruling must first be published in the Hong Kong Gazette.
Hong Kong lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen urged the government to drop its proposal to legalise betting on professional basketball, arguing it would not displace illegal gambling. The Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 would make the Hong Kong Jockey Club the sole licensed operator and proposes a 50% tax rate on net stake receipts.