Hong Kong hits pause on basketball betting plans

The Hong Kong Jockey Club will pause the roll out of betting on basketball after the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau cited concerns around the impacts of the rise in prediction markets.

The Betting Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 was passed last September which allowed the Jockey Club to expand its sports footprint from football to basketball, which is extremely popular in Hong Kong.

The Club had been doing the work to develop betting products on key markets, including the NBA, by the end of 2026, but has now put those plans on hold.

According to the South China Morning Post, authorities have raised concerns that prediction markets, which are illegal in Hong Kong, could be bolstered by legalised betting on the sport via the HKJC.

The club said it respected the decision and will await further advice as to the future of basketball markets.

One of the key reasons for basketball betting to be legalised was to usurp the dominance of the illegal market, but the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau now wants to undertake further research to determine if it might have the opposite impact when it comes to prediction markets.

The club had estimated that authorised basketball betting could generate HK$1.5 billion (US$191.5 million) a year in revenue.

Football already turns over more money through the HKJC than horse racing.