Hong Kong Considers Legalizing Basketball Betting to Boost Tax Revenue

According to the South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong government is considering legalizing basketball betting to increase tax revenue. Citing anonymous sources, the report states that Financial Secretary Paul Chan is contemplating expanding sports betting, currently limited to horse racing and football, to include basketball. Chan is set to unveil the annual budget this Wednesday, which is expected to strike a balance between promoting sluggish economic growth and cutting expenditures to reduce the fiscal deficit.

 

In a blog post over last weekend, Chan stated that the upcoming budget would maintain and improve public services while strictly controlling public spending and moderately expanding revenue, with a focus on enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness. Currently, Hong Kong imposes a maximum tax rate of 75% on horse racing betting profits and 50% on football betting profits. According to data from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, horse racing and football betting together generated nearly HKD 13 billion in tax revenue last year.