Legal casino gambling age in Hong KongHong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China. Under the Basic Law it keeps its own common-law legal system and its own ordinances, so gambling there is governed by Hong Kong law rather than by the law of mainland China or of Macau. Hong Kong follows a restrictive, single-operator model: the Gambling Ordinance makes all gambling unlawful unless it is expressly authorised, licensed or exempted, and the government has authorised a small number of outlets. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, a not-for-profit body, is the only operator authorised to offer horse race betting, football betting and the Mark Six lottery, including through its own online and telephone channels. There are no lawful casinos and no licences for online casino games. Betting with an unauthorised bookmaker, including one based abroad, is a criminal offence for the player as well as the operator.
Key points
- The Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148) prohibits all gambling and lotteries except social gambling, activities licensed under the Ordinance (such as mahjong parlours) and betting authorised under the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108).
- The Hong Kong Jockey Club is the sole authorised operator of horse race betting, football betting (since 2003) and the Mark Six lottery. No casino or online casino licence exists.
- Amendments enacted in 2002 extended the Gambling Ordinance to cross-border and offshore bookmaking. Police state that betting with a bookmaker carries a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and nine months’ imprisonment, and bookmaking up to HK$5 million and seven years.
- Betting duty is charged on the operator: 72.5% to 75% of net stake receipts on horse racing, 50% on football betting and 25% on lottery proceeds, plus a special football betting duty of HK$2.4 billion a year from 2023–24 to 2027–28.
- Basketball betting was legalised by the Legislative Council in September 2025, but in April 2026 the government suspended its launch, citing the growth of prediction markets. It had not started at the latest point we could verify.
- The Ping Wo Fund finances four counselling centres and the gambling counselling hotline 183 4633.
Last reviewed: 6 October 2026.
Top Rated Online Casinos for Hong Kong
Vegas Casino Online
Sign Up400% up to
$500
Liberty Slots Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$259
Sloto'Cash Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$500
Shazam Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$2,500
Lucky Tiger Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$1,000
Casino Brango
Sign Up500% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
Vegas Casino Online
Sign Up400% up to
$500
Liberty Slots Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$259
Sloto'Cash Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$500
Shazam Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$2,500
Lucky Tiger Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$1,000
Casino Brango
Sign Up500% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
Historical development
Hong Kong’s gambling policy has long rested on two ideas: that gambling must be authorised and regulated to prevent crime and social harm, and that limited legal outlets should be provided where there is persistent public demand. A government brief to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2001 described both the Gambling Ordinance and the Betting Duty Ordinance as products of the 1970s, and summarised the Gambling Ordinance’s starting point as a rule that “all gambling and lotteries are illegal unless expressly exempted” (LegCo brief, Gambling Review, 2001).
Horse racing was the first major legal outlet. The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) was founded in 1884 as an amateur racing club (Wikipedia). According to the 2001 brief, the HKJC’s off-course betting branches, opened in the mid-1970s, significantly reduced illegal bookmaking on racing, and the Mark Six lottery, introduced in 1975 and run by the Hong Kong Lotteries Board, largely eradicated illegal lotteries such as Tse Fa.
Football created the next policy problem. The same brief reported estimates that 120,000 to 340,000 residents bet on football illegally, with a conservative estimate of annual turnover of about HK$20 billion, and that police seizures of football betting money rose from HK$1.6 million in 1999 to HK$269 million in 2000. The government responded with legislation against offshore bookmaking, stronger enforcement and a regulated football betting outlet. The first produced the Gambling (Amendment) Ordinance 2002. The last led to a football betting licence for HKJC Football Betting Limited, a wholly owned HKJC subsidiary, on 18 July 2003, with the stated aim of “diverting existing demand into a regulatory channel” (news.gov.hk, July 2003).
In 2006 the horse racing duty was moved from a turnover basis to net stake receipts, matching the football model (Inland Revenue Department, April 2006). The 1997 transfer of sovereignty did not disturb this framework: Article 8 of the Basic Law maintains the laws previously in force, including ordinances.
Legal framework
Hong Kong’s legal system is separate from that of the mainland. Article 1 of the Basic Law states that the HKSAR is “an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China”, and Article 2 authorises it to exercise “a high degree of autonomy” with executive, legislative and independent judicial power (Basic Law, Chapter I). The main instruments are:
- Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148). The general prohibition. According to the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), the policy bureau responsible for gambling, it prohibits all gambling except activities expressly authorised by the government, activities licensed by public officers appointed under the Ordinance, and social gambling that is exempt. Licensed mahjong parlours are the main example of the second category (LegCo brief, June 2025). The Ordinance creates offences of bookmaking, betting with a bookmaker, operating gambling establishments and gambling in them.
- Gambling (Amendment) Ordinance 2002. Introduced as the Gambling (Amendment) Bill 2000, it gave the Ordinance cross-border reach. The government said the Bill would make it an offence for bookmakers abroad to accept bets from Hong Kong and for residents to bet with them, and would criminalise promoting or facilitating offshore bookmaking in Hong Kong (Government press release, November 2000). A later LegCo paper records that the Ordinance “prohibited cross-border gambling and related promotional activities”, after which most offshore bookmakers left Hong Kong, although many continued to take internet bets from Asian residents (LegCo paper, May 2005).
- Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108) and the Betting Duty Regulations. This Ordinance both taxes and authorises lawful betting. It allows the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs to license football betting and lotteries, establishes the Betting and Lotteries Commission, and sets the duty rates. It currently authorises the HKJC to conduct horse racing, the Mark Six lottery and football betting (Government press release, April 2025).
- Betting Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2025. Adds a new Division 3B (sections 6WG to 6WV) to Part 3 of Cap. 108, enabling the Secretary to issue a basketball betting licence (LegCo brief, June 2025). Its implementation has been suspended (see Recent developments).
Regulator and licensing model
There is no independent gambling regulator. Policy and licensing sit with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, who grants and sets the conditions of betting licences under Cap. 108. The Betting and Lotteries Commission, a statutory body under the same Ordinance, advises on regulation and licensing, monitors licensees’ compliance and handles complaints (HYAB, Gambling). Its functions under section 6E of Cap. 108 cover horse race betting, football betting and lotteries (LegCo brief, June 2025).
The model is a monopoly in practice: a single not-for-profit operator holds every betting and lottery licence, and its surplus goes largely to its Charities Trust. The government states that it does not encourage gambling but allows “legal and authorised means of gambling in a limited and regulated manner”, and in 2023 it had “no plan at the moment to increase the number of licence for football betting” (LegCo reply on betting duty, February 2023). New forms of gambling are authorised only where there is persistent public demand, that demand is being met by illegal operators, and the community supports the change (LegCo brief, June 2025).
The football betting licence was renewed for five years from 18 July 2025 on its existing conditions (Government press release, April 2025). These conditions, and those proposed for basketball, include a fixed term, limits on bet types and competitions, no bets on Hong Kong teams or local matches, no betting by people under 18, no credit betting, and mandatory warnings and information on counselling services (LegCo brief, June 2025).
The scale of the authorised market is large. In 2024/25 the HKJC reported total betting and lottery turnover of HK$320.3 billion, of which HK$138.4 billion came from racing, HK$172.8 billion from football and HK$9.0 billion from Mark Six. It paid HK$28.8 billion in betting duty and profits tax and HK$1.3 billion to the government’s Lotteries Fund, and its Charities Trust approved HK$9.0 billion in donations (HKJC, August 2025).
Online gambling: what is permitted and how it is enforced
The authorised online channel
The only lawful remote betting in Hong Kong is that offered by the HKJC on its own authorised products: horse racing, football and the Mark Six lottery. Remote bets are placed through HKJC accounts, which require proof of age to open (LegCo panel paper, April 2025). There is no licence for online casino games, online poker or any other online gambling product, and no other operator is authorised to accept bets from people in Hong Kong. Casinos are not among the authorised forms of gambling listed by the HYAB.
Offshore operators and the illegal market
Since the 2002 amendments, accepting bets from Hong Kong, and promoting or facilitating bookmaking there, are offences whether or not the bookmaker is located in Hong Kong. Police state that the maximum penalty for engaging in bookmaking, or for promoting or facilitating it, is a fine of HK$5 million and seven years’ imprisonment, and they warn that people who take part in the operation of an overseas-hosted gambling website from Hong Kong are liable to prosecution (Hong Kong Police, July 2026).
The illegal market has nonetheless moved online. The government told LegCo in 2025 that most illegal sports betting transactions are now online and that operators use virtual private networks, cryptocurrencies and digital banking to conceal their activity (LegCo brief, June 2025). The HKJC estimated that about 430,000 Hong Kong people bet illegally on basketball in 2024, with a turnover of HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion (Government press release, April 2025); these are operator estimates.
Enforcement
We found no statutory gambling website blocklist. Police instead ask website operators to remove illegal gambling sites; they issued more than 300 such requests over about two and a half years, according to the LegCo bills committee, which also recorded the government’s view that website blocking is largely ineffective because illegal gambling websites can be created and moved across servers and domains at low cost (LegCo bills committee report, September 2025).
Enforcement relies mainly on police investigation. Police arrested 5,731 people for gambling offences in 2021, 6,781 in 2022 and 6,101 in 2023; 11% to 14% were for serious offences such as bookmaking, and the rest for less serious offences such as gambling in an unlawful establishment (LegCo reply, July 2024). From 2024 to February 2025 police dismantled six major syndicates, arrested 107 people and seized betting records worth about HK$2 billion (LegCo panel paper, April 2025).
Large tournaments bring targeted operations: 735 arrests during the 2024 European Championship (Hong Kong Police, July 2024) and 991 arrests, with betting records worth HK$365 million, during the 2026 FIFA World Cup (Hong Kong Police, July 2026).
Advertising
Advertising of authorised betting is controlled through licence conditions, including limits on television and radio advertising during family viewing hours (LegCo brief, 2003; IRD, April 2006). Promoting unlawful bookmaking is itself an offence.
Position of players
In Hong Kong the player’s own conduct is clearly an offence. Under section 8 of the Gambling Ordinance, betting with a bookmaker is an offence, and since the 2002 amendments it applies whether the bookmaker is in Hong Kong or abroad. The government’s 2003 brief on football betting shows the reach of section 8: the licensed operator needed a specific exemption from it in order to place hedging bets with overseas bookmakers (LegCo brief, 2003). Police and the Ping Wo Fund state that the maximum penalty for betting with a bookmaker, or for taking part in illegal gambling, is a fine of HK$50,000 and nine months’ imprisonment (Hong Kong Police, July 2024; Ping Wo Fund, June 2026).
Players are in fact arrested. The offences listed in the police operation of 2024 include betting with a bookmaker (Hong Kong Police, July 2024), and most gambling arrests each year are for less serious offences, such as gambling in a gambling establishment or in the street, rather than for bookmaking or operating gambling establishments (LegCo reply, July 2024). The published figures do not separate online bettors from other cases, and we found no published statistics on sentences imposed on individual bettors.
Online casino games offered by a foreign website fall within no authorised category. Adults may lawfully bet only through the HKJC (from age 18), take part in social gambling and play in licensed mahjong parlours. A 2021 government survey found that 0.3% of the general public reported gambling online (Government press release, December 2022). Players with unauthorised operators have no access to any Hong Kong complaints process.
Taxation
Operators
Betting duty is levied on the authorised operator, not the player. According to the government’s 2023 reply to LegCo, the current rates are (LegCo reply on betting duty, February 2023):
- Horse racing: progressive marginal rates of 72.5% to 75% of net stake receipts (stakes minus payouts). The 2006 reform set 72.5% on the first HK$11 billion, rising by 0.5 percentage points for each further HK$1 billion, to 75% above HK$15 billion (IRD, April 2006).
- Football betting: 50% of net stake receipts.
- Lotteries (Mark Six): 25% of the proceeds.
- Basketball betting (legislated, not in operation): 50% of net stake receipts, the same as football (LegCo brief, June 2025).
In addition, the Betting Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2023, passed on 21 June 2023, imposes a special football betting duty of HK$2.4 billion a year from 2023–24 to 2027–28, HK$12 billion in total (Government press release, June 2023). The HKJC also pays profits tax and contributes to the Lotteries Fund (HKJC, August 2025).
Players
Hong Kong’s salaries tax is charged on income from employment, office and pensions, and capital gains are not taxed (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries). We found no provision that taxes an individual’s betting or lottery winnings, and a Hong Kong accounting firm notes that betting duty is borne by the betting conductor rather than by winners (Mexus). Winnings from unlawful betting have no legal protection, and police operations against illegal bookmaking routinely include money-laundering charges (Hong Kong Police, July 2026).
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
The main public measure is the Ping Wo Fund, established in September 2003 when football betting was authorised. It is financed by the government and by the HKJC, which has committed HK$45 million to HK$50 million a year to it up to 2026–27, and it funds research, public education, and counselling and treatment services (HYAB, Gambling). The Fund subsidises four counselling and treatment centres, run by Caritas, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (Even Centre), Zion Social Service (Yuk Lai Hin) and Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service (Sunshine Lutheran Centre), and an online counselling service called Smart i-Change (Ping Wo Fund). The centres serve about 2,500 to 2,600 clients a year (LegCo panel paper, April 2025).
The gambling counselling hotline is 183 4633 (HYAB, Gambling). The Fund runs publicity campaigns around major tournaments; its 2026 World Cup campaign carried the slogan “No Bets. No Regrets.” (Ping Wo Fund, June 2026).
Licence conditions set the main consumer rules for authorised betting: a minimum age of 18, no credit betting, and mandatory warnings and counselling information. We did not find a statutory territory-wide self-exclusion register. The most recent government prevalence study, carried out by the University of Hong Kong in 2021, found that 39.5% of the public had gambled in the previous year (61.5% in 2016) and estimated gambling disorder prevalence at 0.45% (1.4% in 2016), noting that COVID-19 restrictions may explain part of the fall (Government press release, December 2022). General guidance is available in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Basketball betting legislated (2025). The HYAB consulted on regulating basketball betting from 2 April to 2 May 2025; 94% of the 1,063 submissions supported it (LegCo brief, June 2025). The Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 was gazetted on 20 June 2025 and passed on 11 September 2025, with 77 votes in favour, 2 against and 2 abstentions (DotDotNews, September 2025). The HKJC was to be the sole licensee. Trade press reported that the launch was expected as early as September 2026 (Yogonet, April 2026).
- Launch suspended (April 2026). On 14 April 2026 the HYAB said that basketball betting would not proceed for now. It argued that, given the rapid growth of online prediction markets, introducing basketball betting “under the prevailing circumstances” could lead more people to bet illegally on those platforms, and that “new gambling initiatives should not proceed until the necessary conditions are in place” (GGRAsia, April 2026; AGBrief, April 2026). On 21 April 2026 the Chief Executive, John Lee, said the bureau should not “blindly go ahead” (news.gov.hk, April 2026). The amending Ordinance remains on the statute book, but no licence had been issued and no launch date had been announced at the latest point we could verify.
- Prediction markets. The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Alice Mak, said the review would examine the wider effect of prediction markets on gambling behaviour (GGRAsia, April 2026). No specific legislation on prediction markets had been published at the time of writing.
Casino listings for players in Hong Kong
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not by themselves show that an operator is licensed in Hong Kong. No operator is licensed to offer online casino games to people in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Jockey Club is the only authorised betting operator, and betting with an unauthorised bookmaker is an offence for players under the Gambling Ordinance. The listings must therefore not be read as an indication that playing with any listed operator is lawful in Hong Kong. The authorised forms of gambling are set out by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau.
Vegas Casino Online
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Liberty Slots Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 18
Slots.lv
100% up to
$2,000
+ 20 Spins
Sloto'Cash Casino
100% up to
∞
Casino Extreme
200 Spins
Bovada Casino
100% up to
$1,000
Casino Brango
500% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
Shazam Casino
Exclusive No Deposit Bonus
$ 50
Lucky Tiger Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 55
Red Stag Casino
25% up to
∞
Rich Palms Casino
250% up to
∞
Miami Club Casino
50 Spins
Highway Casino
$ 30
Lincoln Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 18
Yabby Casino
202% up to
∞
DuckyLuck Casino
500% up to
$/€2,500
+ 150 Spins
PlayCroco Casino
300% up to
∞
+ 60 Spins
Fair Go Casino
200% up to
∞
Uptown Aces
250% up to
∞
Las Vegas USA Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Drake Casino
300% up to
$2,000
Sun Palace Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Slots Plus
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Ignition Casino
200% up to
$100
.jpg?x83485){kind=logo}
Everygame Classic Casino
200% up to
∞
+ 50 Spins
Slots And Casino
500% up to
∞
+ 150 Spins
Slotsroom Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Casino Max
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
El Royale Casino
230% up to
∞
Black Lotus Casino
300% up to
$7,000
+ 45 Spins
Red Dog Casino
Slots Empire
230% up to
$7,500
Lucky Creek
50 Spins
Spinfinity Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Jackpot Capital
25% up to
∞
Ripper Casino
25% up to
∞
Las Atlantis Casino
$ 2,500
Slotastic
250% up to
∞
Grand Eagle
200% up to
$5,500
+ 30 Spins
Cherry Jackpot
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Grande Vegas
150% up to
$300
LadyLuck Casino
100 Spins
Roaring 21 Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Ozwin Casino
$ 10
Treasure Mile
200% up to
$/€4,000
+ 50 Spins
TropicanaCasino
Borgata Online Casino
BetOnline Casino
100 Spins
Grand Rush
200% up to
$4,000
+ 40 Spins
Jazz Casino
10% up to
$250
BetMGM Casino NJ
100% up to
$1,000
Sources and further reading
- HKSAR Government, The Basic Law, Chapter I: General Principles (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, Policy Responsibilities: Gambling (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Home Affairs Bureau, Legislative Council Brief, Gambling Review (2001).
- HKSAR Government, LC: Gambling (Amendment) Bill 2000 (2000).
- Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, LC Paper No. CB(2)1520/04-05(02) (2005).
- Home Affairs Bureau, Legislative Council Brief, Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2003 (football betting) (2003).
- news.gov.hk, Jockey Club subsidiary gets betting licence (2003).
- Inland Revenue Department, Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2006 (2006).
- Inland Revenue Department / HKSAR Government, LCQ6: Betting duty (2023).
- HKSAR Government, Government welcomes passage of Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2023 (2023).
- HKSAR Government, Government launches consultation on proposed regulation of basketball betting activities (2025).
- Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, Culture and Sports, Proposed regulation of basketball betting activities (2025).
- Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, Legislative Council Brief, Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 (2025).
- Legislative Council, Report of the Bills Committee on Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025, LC Paper No. CB(3)1294/2025 (2025).
- DotDotNews, LegCo passes bill legalizing basketball betting: Licenses to be issued to HK Jockey Club (2025).
- The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Racing for Good: Jockey Club celebrates 140th anniversary with HK$39.1 billion contribution to the community (2025).
- GGRAsia, Hong Kong halts basketball betting legalisation plan amid fears of illegal gambling fuelled by prediction markets (2026).
- AGBrief, Hong Kong suspends basketball betting rollout citing prediction market risks (2026).
- Yogonet, Hong Kong suspends basketball betting plans over prediction market concerns (2026).
- news.gov.hk, Basketball betting halt explained (2026).
- HKSAR Government, LCQ13: Combating illegal gambling (2024).
- Hong Kong Police Force, Police conduct anti-illegal gambling operation during UEFA EURO 2024 (2024).
- Hong Kong Police Force, Police conduct anti-illegal gambling operation during 2026 FIFA World Cup (2026).
- Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee, Ping Wo Fund launches anti-gambling publicity campaign (2026).
- The Ping Wo Fund, Useful Links (accessed 6 October 2026).
- HKSAR Government, Report of study of Hong Kong people’s participation in gambling activities released (2022).
- PwC, Worldwide Tax Summaries: Hong Kong SAR, Individual, Income determination (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Mexus, Is there a betting duty in Hong Kong? (2024).
- Wikipedia, Hong Kong Jockey Club (accessed 6 October 2026).
