Hong Kong Jockey Club To Delay Basketball Betting Rollout To Evaluate Prediction Markets
The Hong Kong government has instructed the Hong Kong Jockey Club to pause its planned rollout of basketball betting, citing the need to study the impact of prediction market platforms operating in the US, according to a report by Sing Tao Daily.
The club held a meeting with its voting members on 13 April, at which it confirmed the pause. A basketball betting license had been approved following the Legislative Council’s passage of the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill last September.
System development had been underway for approximately a year, originally timed to coincide with the NBA season beginning in October.
A spokesman for Hong Kong’s Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said the government was obligated to study emerging platforms before introducing new gambling activities.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club said it respected the government’s decision and would collaborate on its review of prediction markets. “We will wait for the HKSAR Government’s further advice on our basketball betting license application,” it added.
The club had long advocated for legalizing basketball betting to curb illegal activity.
A previous survey commissioned by the club found that illegal basketball betting in Hong Kong reached HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion in 2024. Legalization was projected to reclaim between 30% and 40% of that volume, generating HK$1.5 billion in annual tax revenue once the market matured.
- The Hong Kong government has said that it is evaluating the rise of prediction markets in the US, halting the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s planned basketball betting rollout.
- Basketball betting was approved last year after lawmakers passed the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill last September.
- Legalization of basketball betting is estimated to bring in HK$1.5 billion in annual tax for Hong Kong.
