Gambling Licence Hong Kong

1. Gaming License Hong Kong
2. Gambling Licence Hong Kong Tourist
3. Gambling License Hong Kong
4. Gambling Licence Hong Kong Official
5. Gambling Licence Hong Kong Visa

Hong Kong is home to only four forms of legal gambling. Mahjong is one and operates under special exemptions from our gambling laws when certain conditions are met. Horse racing is what we are most known for and is practically a religion here. The same company that facilitates horse racing bets also has the government-granted monopoly on lottery, and football betting. Their website is extremely comprehensive and available in English at www.hkjc.com/home/english. As everything you'd want to know and more about gambling in Hong Kong can be found from that site, in this article I will focus only on the laws.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is structured as a non-profit, so 79% of all gambling proceeds are put back into the economy through taxes and charitable donations. HKJC is the most significant single taxpayer in Hong Kong and employs nearly 25,000 in staff. The Legal Status of Gambling in Hong Kong Is Online Gambling Legal in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong Court's Guidance on Correction of Arbitral Awards, Additional Awards, and Applications to Set-Aside or Resist Enforcement. In review: licensing and taxation of gambling activities in. Hong Kong has charities which have a goal to promoting responsible gambling practices among those who gamble and to minimizing the negative effects of problem gambling. Such charities also look for a balance between meeting the demand for gambling and maximizing the social and economic benefits of gambling for the community, while helping to. To even attempt to acquire an online gambling license. Therefore, online gambling is mostly dead in China. There are a couple of exceptions for internet sports betting, but there's nothing in place for casino gambling or poker. The rest of this section will address offline gambling only. Certain forms of gambling are legal in Hong. At present, such authorized gambling outlets include horse racing organized by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Mark Six Lottery, authorized football betting and gaming activities authorized by the public officer appointed by the Secretary for Home Affairs under the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. Mahjong parlours).

Gambling Laws Explained

There are two legal documents that cover the bulk of our gambling law. These are the Betting Duty Ordinance Cap.108 (first passed in 2003 and was last amended in 2006) and the Gambling Ordinance Cap.148 (first passed in 1977 and last amended in 2006). While a lot of words to read, the law is very easy to understand.

Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) holds a government-granted monopoly on all gambling involving horse races, football matches, and lottery. Bets made through HKJC approved channels are legal. Mahjong is covered separately in the law and poker is a gray area (mostly considered illegal). All other forms of gambling are unlawful and carry the harsh penalties listed below.

First conviction: fine of $10000 AND up to 3-months imprisonment.

Second conviction: fine of $20000 AND up to 6-months imprisonment.

Third conviction: fine of $30000 AND up to 9-months imprisonment.

It is also important to note that due to the Gambling (Amendment) Ordinance of 2002 these laws fully apply to internet and telephone betting with foreign sources. At virtually all HKJC approved betting channels reminders are plastered all over informing players they can go to prison for up to 9-months if they use foreign bookmakers.

For reason Hong Kong is a global economic power, has extradition treaties with much of the world, and has extremely harsh penalties for gambling operators found in violation of HK law, most every foreign betting site blocks Hong Kong players from making deposits. There is however some offshore gambling sites (that while illegal) Hong Kong residents can use, but these are far and few between.

Mahjong Law

To help you better understand our mahjong law I need to first mention that Hong Kong was British colony from 1842-1997. Today we are one of two special administrative regions of China (Macau is the other). We have our own currency, unique history, passports, government and laws. In short we have not been subject to gambling law of Chinese Mainland for over 170 years. Back on topic here, the Colonial Government had banned all forms of gambling under the Gambling Ordinance of 1891. Cap.40 of 1931 allowed for limited forms of gambling and its 1950 rewrite expanded this to allow for licensed Mahjong Parlours.

From 1950-1976 Colonial Europeans issued licenses to approximately 140 Mahjong clubs. In 1977 this law was repealed. While no new clubs have been licensed since, those that held a license prior to 1977 are still allowed to operate legally. There are about 60 of these clubs left. They take 7.5% commission from player's winnings and are fully legal under Section 22 of the Gambling Ordinance.

Modern Mahjong clubs are far more popular than the licensed ones and fall under Section 3 of the Gambling Ordinance. This allows social-occasion gambling on games involving dice, dominoes, mahjong or tin kau tiles, and playing cards only in licensed restaurants, premises licensed to sell liquor and clubs (as defined by 4-2 of the Clubs Safety of Premises Ordinance). To be legal: admission must not be charged to enter the premise and there must be no exclusive bank. It also must not be a trade of the business in any way. This means no promotion of the games, no employees playing the games, and no cut taken from the winnings.

Hong Kong Poker Law

Poker is a very popular in Hong Kong, both with Chinese players and expats. Until 2010, poker clubs operated out in the open feeling they held the same legal exemption as Mahjong. A series of police raids put an end to this. The Blue House was raided and shutdown in March 2010, a high-stakes game involving a Merrill Lynch director was raided in July 2010, and the famous PokerStars co-sponsored Hong Kong Poker House in August 2010.

These raids sent poker underground. Today, it still exists but for reason being caught involves a 3-month prison sentence for a first offense it is difficult to get into the game without knowing someone. It's worth noting gambling in Macau is a one-hour ferry ride away from Hong Kong and here poker and casino games are offered in HKD currency.

Holders of a Hong Kong Identity Card, Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card or Re-entry Permit are allowed to enter Macau without even needing a passport. Macau tourism figures show this is a popular option. In 2012, Macau's visitor arrivals from Hong Kong were 7,081,153, which is slightly than the total population of Hong Kong. This is because each visit is counted separate, and for some serious gamblers Macau is an every weekend trip.

Gambling

• Message from the Chairman, Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee (December 2012)

Gambling Policy

The Home Affairs Bureau is responsible for formulating gambling policy and monitoring its implementation. Hitherto, the gambling policy is to restrict gambling opportunities to a limited number of authorized and regulated outlets. At present, such authorized gambling outlets include horse racing organized by the Hong Kong Jockey Club , the Mark Six Lottery, authorized football betting and gaming activities authorized by the public officer appointed by the Secretary for Home Affairs under the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148) (e.g. mahjong parlours).

The rationale behind this policy is two-fold. First, while we recognize that there is always a demand for gambling, the conduct of gambling activities should be authorized and regulated. This is because unregulated gambling activities can lead to a number of social problems - frauds, underage gambling, loan sharking, etc. - and become a potential source of income for triad and criminal activities. Second, since it is impossible to reconcile the different views in the community on the extent to which authorized gambling outlets should be allowed to exist, a compromise approach is to allow only a limited number of authorized gambling outlets, the purpose of which is to satisfy substantial and persistent public demand for gambling which would otherwise turn to illegal operators.

Gambling Legislation

Under the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148), all gambling activities are illegal except those expressly authorized by the Government under the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108) (i.e. authorized horse racing, authorized football betting and the Mark Six Lottery), those licensed by the public officers appointed by the Secretary for Home Affairs (e.g. mahjong parlours) and those exempted under Section 3 of the Gambling Ordinance (mainly social gambling).

Gaming License Hong Kong

Betting and Lotteries Commission

With effect from 15 August 2006, the name of the Football Betting and Lotteries Commission was changed to the Betting and Lotteries Commission, and the functions of the Commission expanded to include advising the Secretary for Home Affairs on the regulation of the conduct of betting on horse racing as well as compliance with licensing conditions by the licensee. Details of the terms of reference and membership of the Commission are as follows :

Terms of reference

To advise the Secretary for Home Affairs on the following aspects -

1. regulation of the conduct of horse race betting, football betting and lotteries in accordance with the provisions of the Betting Duty Ordinance and the licensing conditions;
2. compliance with the licensing conditions by the licensees;
3. handling of public complaints relating to the compliance of the licensing conditions by the licensees;
4. imposition of financial penalties on the licensees; and
5. issuance and revocation of horse race betting, football betting and lottery licences; and variation of the conditions of such licences.

Chairman

Mr FONG Man-hung, David, BBS, JP

Non-official Members

Dr. CHAN Po-ling
Mr FOK Kai-kong, Kenneth, JP
Ms. FUNG Dun-mi, Amy, MH
Rev HO Chi-dik
Ms HO Yee-lin, Elaine
Mr LAI Tat-shing
Hon LAU Kwok-fan, MH
Ms LEUNG Fung-yee, Fonnie
Mr. LING Ho-wan, Howard, MH
Ms LU Hai, BBS, MH, JP
Hon WAN Siu-kin, Andrew
Mr. WONG Hin-wing

Official Members

Commissioner of Police or his representative
Permanent Secretary for Education or his representative
Director of Home Affairs or her representative

Meeting of the Commission

Submission of views on the proposal of increasing the number of simulcast days

The Betting and Lotteries Commission invited members of the public to submit views on Hong Kong Jockey Club's proposal of increasing the number of simulcast days. For details, please click here.

Complaints and comments

If you have any complaints and comments regarding the regulation of authorized betting and lotteries, please contact us through the following channels:

The Ping Wo Fund

The Government established The Ping Wo Fund in September 2003 to finance preventive and remedial measures to address the gambling-related problems. From 2019/20, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has undertaken to contribute $45 million each year within a four-year period. The Fund also welcomes donations from the public. For cheque and cash donations:
- Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC) account number '502-407851-001'. Cheques should be made payable to 'The Secretary for Home Affairs Incorporated – The Ping Wo Fund'. For more details of the Fund and the programme schedules, please visit http://www.donotgamble.org.hk.

The major ambits of The Ping Wo Fund are to finance the following measures:

- research and studies into problems and issues relating to gambling;
- public education and other measures to prevent or alleviate problems relating to gambling;
- counselling, treatment and other remedial or support services for problem and pathological gamblers and those affected by them.

A Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee has been established to give advice on the use and application of the Fund. The membership of the Committee is as follows:

Chairperson

Mr YIP Chun-to, Adrian, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.

Ex-officio Members

Gambling Licence Hong Kong Tourist

Representative of Secretary for Home Affairs
Representative of Secretary for Education
Representative of Director of Social Welfare

Non-official Members

Mr CHAN Chun-chung
Mr CHAN Ho-ting, Mac
Ms CHAN Wing-man
Dr CHEN Yuk-lun, Ronald
Ms CHENG Michelle
Mr CHIU Ka-yin, Andrew
Mr CHONG Yan-kit, Sam
Miss HO Ching-wai, Cherene
Ms LEUNG Fung-yee, Fonnie
Mr NG Chak-hang, Matthew
Dr POON Yin-kwong, Johannes
Miss WONG Sze-sze

Meeting of the Advisory Committee

Research and studies on gambling-related issues and problems

We have commissioned academic institutes to conduct research and studies on Hong Kong People's participation in gambling activities. (for report, press here ).

Counselling and treatment as well as other remedial services for gamblers with gambling disorder

Four dedicated counselling and treatment centres for gamblers with gambling disorder financed by The Ping Wo Fund are being operated by Caritas, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Zion Social Service Limited and Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service respectively. The first two centres operated by Caritas and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals commenced service since October 2003 whereas the two other centres operated by Zion Social Service Limited and Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service commenced service in 2007 and 2010 respectively. The four centres also provide gambling counselling hotline service (telephone number: 1834 633).

The four centres provide specialised counselling and treatment services for gamblers with gambling disorder and their family members. The four centres will also facilitate the development of the best practices for remedial services and screening of gamblers with gambling disorder in Hong Kong, and collect data and statistics for the sake of enhancing understanding about the behaviour and risk factors of gamblers with gambling disorder.

Project i-Change: a new stepped-care-approach for problem gamblers

The Project i-Change, which features a virtual counsellor, is a pilot project funded by the Ping Wo Fund and operated by Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service – Hong Kong with an aim to fill the gap of existing operation hours of counselling services by providing simulated counselling support service to problem gamblers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As an artificial intelligence computer programme developed by a team of multi-disciplinary versatile professionals, the virtual counsellor serves as an initial contact point to offer preliminary advice and encourage problem gamblers for further telephone and face-to-face counselling.

Third conviction: fine of $30000 AND up to 9-months imprisonment.

It is also important to note that due to the Gambling (Amendment) Ordinance of 2002 these laws fully apply to internet and telephone betting with foreign sources. At virtually all HKJC approved betting channels reminders are plastered all over informing players they can go to prison for up to 9-months if they use foreign bookmakers.

For reason Hong Kong is a global economic power, has extradition treaties with much of the world, and has extremely harsh penalties for gambling operators found in violation of HK law, most every foreign betting site blocks Hong Kong players from making deposits. There is however some offshore gambling sites (that while illegal) Hong Kong residents can use, but these are far and few between.

Mahjong Law

To help you better understand our mahjong law I need to first mention that Hong Kong was British colony from 1842-1997. Today we are one of two special administrative regions of China (Macau is the other). We have our own currency, unique history, passports, government and laws. In short we have not been subject to gambling law of Chinese Mainland for over 170 years. Back on topic here, the Colonial Government had banned all forms of gambling under the Gambling Ordinance of 1891. Cap.40 of 1931 allowed for limited forms of gambling and its 1950 rewrite expanded this to allow for licensed Mahjong Parlours.

From 1950-1976 Colonial Europeans issued licenses to approximately 140 Mahjong clubs. In 1977 this law was repealed. While no new clubs have been licensed since, those that held a license prior to 1977 are still allowed to operate legally. There are about 60 of these clubs left. They take 7.5% commission from player's winnings and are fully legal under Section 22 of the Gambling Ordinance.

Modern Mahjong clubs are far more popular than the licensed ones and fall under Section 3 of the Gambling Ordinance. This allows social-occasion gambling on games involving dice, dominoes, mahjong or tin kau tiles, and playing cards only in licensed restaurants, premises licensed to sell liquor and clubs (as defined by 4-2 of the Clubs Safety of Premises Ordinance). To be legal: admission must not be charged to enter the premise and there must be no exclusive bank. It also must not be a trade of the business in any way. This means no promotion of the games, no employees playing the games, and no cut taken from the winnings.

Hong Kong Poker Law

Poker is a very popular in Hong Kong, both with Chinese players and expats. Until 2010, poker clubs operated out in the open feeling they held the same legal exemption as Mahjong. A series of police raids put an end to this. The Blue House was raided and shutdown in March 2010, a high-stakes game involving a Merrill Lynch director was raided in July 2010, and the famous PokerStars co-sponsored Hong Kong Poker House in August 2010.

These raids sent poker underground. Today, it still exists but for reason being caught involves a 3-month prison sentence for a first offense it is difficult to get into the game without knowing someone. It's worth noting gambling in Macau is a one-hour ferry ride away from Hong Kong and here poker and casino games are offered in HKD currency.

Holders of a Hong Kong Identity Card, Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card or Re-entry Permit are allowed to enter Macau without even needing a passport. Macau tourism figures show this is a popular option. In 2012, Macau's visitor arrivals from Hong Kong were 7,081,153, which is slightly than the total population of Hong Kong. This is because each visit is counted separate, and for some serious gamblers Macau is an every weekend trip.

Gambling

• Message from the Chairman, Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee (December 2012)

Gambling Policy

The Home Affairs Bureau is responsible for formulating gambling policy and monitoring its implementation. Hitherto, the gambling policy is to restrict gambling opportunities to a limited number of authorized and regulated outlets. At present, such authorized gambling outlets include horse racing organized by the Hong Kong Jockey Club , the Mark Six Lottery, authorized football betting and gaming activities authorized by the public officer appointed by the Secretary for Home Affairs under the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148) (e.g. mahjong parlours).

The rationale behind this policy is two-fold. First, while we recognize that there is always a demand for gambling, the conduct of gambling activities should be authorized and regulated. This is because unregulated gambling activities can lead to a number of social problems - frauds, underage gambling, loan sharking, etc. - and become a potential source of income for triad and criminal activities. Second, since it is impossible to reconcile the different views in the community on the extent to which authorized gambling outlets should be allowed to exist, a compromise approach is to allow only a limited number of authorized gambling outlets, the purpose of which is to satisfy substantial and persistent public demand for gambling which would otherwise turn to illegal operators.

Gambling Legislation

Under the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148), all gambling activities are illegal except those expressly authorized by the Government under the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108) (i.e. authorized horse racing, authorized football betting and the Mark Six Lottery), those licensed by the public officers appointed by the Secretary for Home Affairs (e.g. mahjong parlours) and those exempted under Section 3 of the Gambling Ordinance (mainly social gambling).

Gaming License Hong Kong

Betting and Lotteries Commission

With effect from 15 August 2006, the name of the Football Betting and Lotteries Commission was changed to the Betting and Lotteries Commission, and the functions of the Commission expanded to include advising the Secretary for Home Affairs on the regulation of the conduct of betting on horse racing as well as compliance with licensing conditions by the licensee. Details of the terms of reference and membership of the Commission are as follows :

Terms of reference

To advise the Secretary for Home Affairs on the following aspects -

1. regulation of the conduct of horse race betting, football betting and lotteries in accordance with the provisions of the Betting Duty Ordinance and the licensing conditions;
2. compliance with the licensing conditions by the licensees;
3. handling of public complaints relating to the compliance of the licensing conditions by the licensees;
4. imposition of financial penalties on the licensees; and
5. issuance and revocation of horse race betting, football betting and lottery licences; and variation of the conditions of such licences.

Chairman

Mr FONG Man-hung, David, BBS, JP

Non-official Members

Dr. CHAN Po-ling
Mr FOK Kai-kong, Kenneth, JP
Ms. FUNG Dun-mi, Amy, MH
Rev HO Chi-dik
Ms HO Yee-lin, Elaine
Mr LAI Tat-shing
Hon LAU Kwok-fan, MH
Ms LEUNG Fung-yee, Fonnie
Mr. LING Ho-wan, Howard, MH
Ms LU Hai, BBS, MH, JP
Hon WAN Siu-kin, Andrew
Mr. WONG Hin-wing

Official Members

Commissioner of Police or his representative
Permanent Secretary for Education or his representative
Director of Home Affairs or her representative

Meeting of the Commission

Submission of views on the proposal of increasing the number of simulcast days

The Betting and Lotteries Commission invited members of the public to submit views on Hong Kong Jockey Club's proposal of increasing the number of simulcast days. For details, please click here.

Complaints and comments

If you have any complaints and comments regarding the regulation of authorized betting and lotteries, please contact us through the following channels:

The Ping Wo Fund

The Government established The Ping Wo Fund in September 2003 to finance preventive and remedial measures to address the gambling-related problems. From 2019/20, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has undertaken to contribute $45 million each year within a four-year period. The Fund also welcomes donations from the public. For cheque and cash donations:
- Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC) account number '502-407851-001'. Cheques should be made payable to 'The Secretary for Home Affairs Incorporated – The Ping Wo Fund'. For more details of the Fund and the programme schedules, please visit http://www.donotgamble.org.hk.

The major ambits of The Ping Wo Fund are to finance the following measures:

- research and studies into problems and issues relating to gambling;
- public education and other measures to prevent or alleviate problems relating to gambling;
- counselling, treatment and other remedial or support services for problem and pathological gamblers and those affected by them.

A Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee has been established to give advice on the use and application of the Fund. The membership of the Committee is as follows:

Chairperson

Mr YIP Chun-to, Adrian, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.

Ex-officio Members

Gambling Licence Hong Kong Tourist

Representative of Secretary for Home Affairs
Representative of Secretary for Education
Representative of Director of Social Welfare

Non-official Members

Mr CHAN Chun-chung
Mr CHAN Ho-ting, Mac
Ms CHAN Wing-man
Dr CHEN Yuk-lun, Ronald
Ms CHENG Michelle
Mr CHIU Ka-yin, Andrew
Mr CHONG Yan-kit, Sam
Miss HO Ching-wai, Cherene
Ms LEUNG Fung-yee, Fonnie
Mr NG Chak-hang, Matthew
Dr POON Yin-kwong, Johannes
Miss WONG Sze-sze

Meeting of the Advisory Committee

Research and studies on gambling-related issues and problems

We have commissioned academic institutes to conduct research and studies on Hong Kong People's participation in gambling activities. (for report, press here ).

Counselling and treatment as well as other remedial services for gamblers with gambling disorder

Four dedicated counselling and treatment centres for gamblers with gambling disorder financed by The Ping Wo Fund are being operated by Caritas, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Zion Social Service Limited and Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service respectively. The first two centres operated by Caritas and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals commenced service since October 2003 whereas the two other centres operated by Zion Social Service Limited and Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service commenced service in 2007 and 2010 respectively. The four centres also provide gambling counselling hotline service (telephone number: 1834 633).

The four centres provide specialised counselling and treatment services for gamblers with gambling disorder and their family members. The four centres will also facilitate the development of the best practices for remedial services and screening of gamblers with gambling disorder in Hong Kong, and collect data and statistics for the sake of enhancing understanding about the behaviour and risk factors of gamblers with gambling disorder.

Project i-Change: a new stepped-care-approach for problem gamblers

The Project i-Change, which features a virtual counsellor, is a pilot project funded by the Ping Wo Fund and operated by Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service – Hong Kong with an aim to fill the gap of existing operation hours of counselling services by providing simulated counselling support service to problem gamblers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As an artificial intelligence computer programme developed by a team of multi-disciplinary versatile professionals, the virtual counsellor serves as an initial contact point to offer preliminary advice and encourage problem gamblers for further telephone and face-to-face counselling.

• Project i-Change (Chinese Version Only)

Gambling License Hong Kong

Ping Wo Fund Sponsorship Scheme 2020-21

The Ping Wo Fund Sponsorship Scheme, administered by the Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee, aims to provide sponsorship to community organisations to organise public education programmes/activities to prevent and alleviate gambling-related problems. The application for the Ping Wo Fund Sponsorship Scheme 2020-21 was closed on 16 September 2020.

Gambling Licence Hong Kong Official

Ping Wo Fund School Project Grants 2020-21

The Ping Wo Fund School Project Grants administered by the Ping Wo Fund Advisory Committee aims to provide sponsorship to schools to organise educational projects/activities on prevention or alleviation of gambling-related problems among students. The application for the 2020-21 Ping Wo Fund School Project Grants was closed on 15 June 2020.

Gambling Licence Hong Kong Visa

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