Online Gambling Hong Kong
The Gambling Ordinance was enacted in 1977 to regulate gambling in Hong Kong. People are allowed gamble for leisure and entertainment within these regulations at a limited number of authorized outlets. Social gambling is still allowed. The government of Hong Kong restricts organized gambling to a. Hong Kong's best online casinos revealed. Read information on Hong Kong's gambling industry, and find the best places for Hong Kongers to gamble online. We bring you the best online casinos in Hong Kong. You get to experience all the fun & excitement of real money online casino wins in the safest environments.
In addition to Macau, Hong Kong is one of the two special administrative regions of China. This autonomous territory is located in the southeastern corner of China and has a population of more than 7.3 million people. Hong Kong is famous for its impressive skyline, the enormous Big Buddha and many food joints.
It is one of the four most densely populated sovereign states on the globe, and its area covers 1,106 km2. The New Territories, Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island are the three main areas, while Hong Kong encompasses 263 islands. Macau, China’s other special administrative region, is only 60 km away.
According to recent studies, more than 80 percent of Hong Kong’s adult population enjoys games of luck every now and then although most forms are not permitted. However, a couple of cruise ships offer casino games, while betting on soccer games and horse races is also legal in Hong Kong. There are no Hong Kong-licensed online casinos, but that doesn’t stop locals from playing at offshore gaming sites. Indeed, online casino gambling is a big hit among Hong Kong Chinese.
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Best Hong Kong online casinos
Hong Kongers with a weak spot for online gambling can choose from many options as both Chinese and English are the official languages in the special administrative region of China. It goes without saying that many online casinos are available in English, while an increasing number of gaming sites also offer the Chinese language.
The following virtual casinos are extremely popular amongst gamblers from all over the world, which is definitely for a reason:
Popularity online casinos in Hong Kong explained
The service-oriented economy of Hong Kong is known as one of the leading financial hubs on the globe due to the high concentration of banking institutions. Besides its low tax rates, the free trade police is another reason why it’s one of the world’s freest economies.
After a 4.8 percent expansion in 2011, Hong Kong’s growth moderated to 1.7 percent in the next year. In 2013 however, its gross domestic product (GDP) rose 3.1 percent, followed by a 2.7 percent growth in 2014, and a 2.4 percent expansion last year. The government of Hong Kong expects a 1.5 percent growth in 2016.
Hong Kong is the sixth-prosperous economy on the globe, according to Global Finance Magazine. Mainland China’s capita GDP (PPP) is approximately US$10,000, while Hong Kong’s capita GDP is US$53,400. At the same time, Hong Kong is one of the most expensive regions to live.
More than 81 percent of the population has access to the world wide web, which contrasts massively with the 34.1 percent in 2000. Hong Kong has one of the highest mobile internet penetration rates of all Asian countries. If you add the increased fondness for gambling, it isn’t much of a surprise that online casinos are a prevalent entertainment activity among Hong Kong Chinese.
Gambling and online casinos in Hong Kong
It’s an open secret that internet gambling has an edge on its land-based cousin because of many reasons. These are some of the key factors behind the success story of online casinos:
- Top-notch online casino games with face-melting visuals
- Stunning bonuses, including deposit bonuses
- Mobile casinos
- Tons of exciting sweepstakes and promotions
- Dazzling cash prizes, such as multimillion progressive jackpots
- Rewarding loyalty programs
How to deposit money in an online casino when I’m from Hong Kong?
Everybody loves the free-play feature that most online casino games offer. However, gamblers who like to rake in some cash have to play for real money. Luckily, online gaming sites come with a whole host of user-friendly and trustworthy deposit methods, for example:
- Credit cards, such as Visa, MasterCard and Maestro
- E-wallets, including Skrill and Neteller
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All types of gambling are legal in Hong Kong but the government keeps a very close eye on what’s happening and regulations are tight.
That being said offshore operators do offer online gambling to residents of the country which we’ll detail below along with a full overview of the situation and rundown of all key laws relating to online and offline gambling.
Betting Sites Available In Honk Kong:
We only know of one betting site available to use if you’re a resident in Hong Kong and that’s 188bet.
Key Facts: Online Gambling In Hong Kong
- Online betting and gambling legal with licensed operators (since 2006).
- Football betting (soccer) is the most popular with punters.
- Legal gambling age is 18+.
- Overseas providers legal with a license (current non exist)
- Offshore operators continue to serve customers in the market.
Gambling Legislation & Laws
Often the best way to understand the legal situation surrounding gambling in any given country is to look back through the legislation passed over the years. The following timeline allows you to do just that for Hong Kong’s gambling industry:
1977 – The Gambling Ordinance
It was in 1977 under the Gambling Ordinance that gambling was first legalised and regulated in Hong Kong.
That piece of legislation determined that gambling was only legal in certain licensed gambling establishments and established a monopoly over lotteries, horse racing betting and other sports betting for the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
2002 – The Gambling (Amendment) Ordinance
In 2002, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the Gambling (Amendment) Ordinance. This piece of legislation banned all offshore gambling, including offshore internet gambling but did allow for the Hong Kong Jockey Club to offer some online gambling services in the shape of selling lottery tickets and providing horse racing and football betting.
It was this legislation, too, which set down the potential punishments for anyone found operating or using illegal offshore and internet gambling services. These are that representatives of providers can be jailed for up to seven years and the company fined $5 million HKD, and that users of the services can be imprisoned for up to nine months and fined $30,000 HKD.
2014 – Home Affairs Bureau Announcement
In spite of the 2002 legislation, overseas online gambling operators continued to cater for Hong Kong citizens. Whilst this is illegal and the Hong Kong authorities do not condone it, the Home Affairs Bureau did state in 2014 that they would not seek to block access to unlicensed betting websites.
Tax On Winnings?
Another important element of any country’s legal stance on gambling is how the activity is viewed when it comes to tax. In Hong Kong, the situation is mercifully simple as there is currently no mechanism at all for punters to be taxed on their winnings.
In the case of legal gambling provided through licensed establishments and organisations such as the Hong Kong Jockey Club, it is those companies who are taxed and not their customers. When it comes to punters who use illegal online gambling sites, too, the Hong Kong authorities have no way of levying tax on winnings. They can, however, prosecute individuals who do take part in illegal gambling and impose prison sentences and fines.
Deposit Methods: What Works?
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Most Hong Kong banks and credit card providers do not allow their customers to deposit to illegal overseas gambling providers. As such, credit or debit card deposits often have sporadic success.
Online Gambling Hong Kong
Instead, many of those punters choose to deposit with their chosen sites through e-wallet services such as Skrill or Neteller. These services offer a kind of buffer between the gambling sites and a customer’s bank, and in many cases it is only the name of the e-wallet which shows up on a bank statement and not where the money ultimately goes.