The government on Monday suspended plans to launch basketball betting, citing the emergence of prediction markets which it says could entice more people to engage in illegal gambling.

Prediction markets are platforms where people trade contracts on the outcome of future events, and a spokesman from the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said betting on sports on such platforms are illegal.

The spokesman said further studies into prediction markets are needed, as their rapid development had brought uncertainty to betting markets.

"If basketball betting is introduced under the prevailing circumstances, it could lead more people to pay attention to and participate in illegal bets in prediction markets," the spokesman said.

The bureau said that the the volume of transactions in the prediction markets reached US$64 billion last year, a three-fold increase from 2024.

That volume is expected to increase another fivefold by 2030, with 40 percent related to sports.

As a responsible government, the statement added, there was a needed to conduct more in-depth analysis into the prediction markets, including how they operate, so as to safeguard public interest.

The development comes seven months after the Legislative Council approved amendments to the Betting Duty Ordinance to legalise basketball betting in Hong Kong.

The Jockey Club had been expected to be given the right to act as the city's sole licensed basketball betting operator, with a 50 percent duty to be levied on net stake receipts, same as that for football betting.

In response, the Jockey Club said it respects the government's decision and will cooperate with its work, pending further instructions.



Edited by Cecil Wong