Is online gambling legal in Hong Kong?

Legal overview

Under the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148), all gambling in Hong Kong is unlawful unless it is authorised under the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108), licensed by officers appointed by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs (for example mahjong parlours), or exempted as social gambling. The authorised products are horse race betting, football betting and the Mark Six lottery, all run by The Hong Kong Jockey Club as the only licensed operator. Basketball betting was added when the Legislative Council passed the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2025 on 11 September 2025; it follows the football model, with the Jockey Club as licensee and betting duty of 50% of net stake receipts. The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau sets policy, and the statutory Betting and Lotteries Commission advises on licensing and compliance.

Online casino games and online poker are not among the authorised products, so no one can legally offer them to Hong Kong residents. Bookmaking is an offence even when bets are taken outside Hong Kong from people in Hong Kong, and promoting or facilitating such bookmaking is also an offence, with maximum penalties of HKD 5 million and seven years' imprisonment. Players are covered too: section 8 makes betting with a bookmaker an offence, including an offshore one, with fines of HKD 10,000 to 30,000 and three to nine months' imprisonment depending on prior convictions. The government restates that taking part in illegal gambling is a criminal offence.

In 2025 the government told legislators that blocking illegal websites had become largely ineffective because operators use mirror sites. It relies instead on cyber patrols, intelligence-led police operations and cooperation with INTERPOL. Between 2024 and February 2025, police broke up six major syndicates and arrested 107 people.