The Gambling Landscape in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a long and complex gambling history, which is tightly related to the British colonization in the 19th century. Despite the different restrictions imposed over the decades, gambling has become part of Hong Kong culture and is accepted as a sign of social stability and prosperity.
With the massive development of digital venues like online casinos and betting platforms, the local government struggles with their control and regulation. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the world's biggest and most famous organizations, scoring the highest horse racing turnovers, multiple times bigger than those in the US and Europe.
Table of Contents
- History of Gambling in Hong Kong
- Legal Status of Online Casinos
- Challenges and Controversies: Offshore Online Casinos
- Potential Future Developments
Historical Context: Evolution of Gambling Laws in Hong Kong
Gambling was prohibited in Hong Kong before the British colonization in 1841. Right after the arrival of the Englishmen, they started developing different businesses, and gambling was one of them. The most preferred sport of the colonizers was horse racing, and they tended to bring it everywhere they went. At first, the races took place in Macau due to the lack of a racing track in Hong Kong. In the period between 1841 and 1844, the Tap Siac racecourse in Macau was the main stage for the weekend Derby.
In 1845, it was moved to Hong Kong's Pokfulam area. Then, in 1858, all racing events were established in the Happy Valley. In 1867, the local British government passed the social order and decency law and Article XVIII. That allowed the governor of Hong Kong to tax gambling activities, making the gambling business officially legal in Hong Kong. The local society did not accept that well due to the clear understanding of how harmful gambling could be. A request to withdraw the regulations was imposed, which led to the prohibition of gambling in 1871.
As you can imagine, the ban didn't terminate gambling entirely. In one form or another, it was still available to Hongkongers. This led to the foundation of the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 1884. This is when horse racing started gaining more and more popularity and became a form of entertainment and a sign of social status and prosperity. The other popular gambling game in Hong Kong was Mahjong, but its official legalization was in 1956 when the local police started issuing licences for "Mahjong Schools". Until 2011, they were 144, and that year reduced to 66.
In 1975, the government released the first local lottery called Mark Six, which was initially a 6/36, but later on, it became 6/49. The year 1977 was revolutionary for Hong Kong gamblers because of the establishment of the Gambling Ordinance. It gave the Hong Kong Jockey Club the exclusive rights to organize and regulate gambling activities. At the time, only horse racing, Mahjong and Mark Six were available, while in the early 2000s, football/soccer betting was added to the list. The 2002 Gambling Amendment Ordinance aimed to limit online gambling but was unsuccessful.
Current Legal Status: What the Law Says About Online Casinos
Nowadays, online casinos and sports betting are considered illegal in Hong Kong, but citizens are not obstructed from playing on offshore platforms. Meanwhile, all land-based gambling activities are allowed and offered only in the Hong Kong Jockey Club establishments. The top online casinos in Hong Kong possess licenses from reputable gambling regulators like the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority and the Curacao eGaming, which are recognized worldwide. You can click here to read more on the topic.
The Role of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club plays a crucial role in local gambling because it is the only place people can legally participate in lotteries and sports betting. It is the entity responsible for regulating all gambling activities, licensing Mahjong Schools, and providing assistance with problem gambling. Annually, it delivers more than HK$20 billion in duty and profit taxes to the Hong Kong budget. Part of the income is reinvested in charity events and responsible gambling practices to minimize the adverse effects of gambling. It is also responsible for the organization of all horse racing events.
Challenges and Controversies: Offshore Online Casinos
Playing on offshore platforms hides certain risks because it is considered illegal, and if the government can detect gambling transactions, you can be arrested and sued by the state. Many Hongkongers play online without any issues, but still, we can't miss to highlight the possibility of getting in trouble. To minimize those chances, you can use alternative payments like cryptocurrencies or e-wallets, which don't disclose any information to the local authorities.
Additionally, if you play in shady online casinos and sports betting platforms, there is a risk that your personal and bank details will end up in the wrong hands. Therefore, we mentioned earlier the few internationally proven gambling authorities. If you see their logos and license numbers, you can be sure you are playing with a trustworthy operator. You can research their background, reviews, player feedback and other particularities that could tell you if something fishy is happening. To choose the right online casino, you must also have clear priorities: what games you intend to play and what features you see to find.
Legal Implications for Players: Risks and Penalties
If by any chance you get caught playing on unauthorized online gambling platforms, you must know what the consequences could be. If you organize illegal betting or gambling games on the territory of Hong Kong, you can get a penalty of up to HK$5 million and an imprisonment of up to 7 years. If you participate in illegal gambling activities, the laws are not that harsh, but still, you can end up paying up to HK$50,000 penalty and could be sentenced to up to 9 months in prison. It would be best to consider it all that seriously when gambling online on platforms not part of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
Social and Economic Impacts
The economic benefits of gambling in Hong Kong are pretty evident. Currently, it scores one of the highest incomes in the world, which are directly inserted into the local budget and used for different purposes like innovations, social development, and, of course, problem gambling education. As mentioned before, the average turnover of the sector per year is above HK$200 billion, while over HK$20 billion goes directly into the economy in the form of duties and taxes.
From a social perspective, we can say that horse racing events are more of a local tradition and social gatherings where people have fun, communicate and entertain. Hong Kong society does not accept sports betting as a threat. Still, most of it opposes the official legalization of online gambling and online casinos due to its fear of eventual lousy influence over the masses.
Potential Future Developments: Is Change on the Horizon?
The Hong Kong government is expected to pass new laws targeting online gambling sites in the following years to guarantee its citizens' safety when playing online. The need for changes becomes more and more evident each year. Hong Kong earns a lot from land-based gambling activities in the form of taxes. Still, that amount could be significantly increased if proper online regulators are implemented, and local taxation and licensing are established.
Conclusion: Navigating the Legal Maze
If you are a passionate gambler, you will probably suffer from a shortage of legal online casinos in Hong Kong, and you want the laws to be changed and adapted to world trends. However, when and how it will happen is not yet clear. Society's options are very polarized, and due to the present legal sports betting events, it does not see the need to legalize offshore online casinos.
This does not mean it won't happen soon either because the state's monetary benefits could be exponential. After all, prohibition is never the answer, and history proves that one way or another, gambling will always exist. Reasonable regulations and control are the best approach to keep those activities out of the grey sector so society and the state can benefit from them.
