Hong Kong police have reminded sports fans that gambling on foreign sites is potentially illegal in the country, even though the website claims to be legally operating with licenses from other governments around the world.
Police are warning residents to refrain from using foreign bookmakers to wager their money before the upcoming FIFA World Cup that will begin on June 11, 2026 and predicting an increase in online gambling activity during this competition.
According to Chief Inspector Wong Yu-fai, anyone placing bets with unlicensed foreign bookmakers may be up to violating the Gambling Ordinance statute. Many online gambling sites that market themselves as having foreign licenses are not necessarily able to do so in Hong Kong because these websites operate as unregulated businesses.
As an example of the criminal activity created by unregulated online betting, the Hong Kong Police reported 374 major gambling violations and arrested 4,482 people in 2025 while recovering over HK$3,000,000 and seizing over HK$1,100,000,000 in betting evidence. Both of these numbers are slightly lower than the previous year of 2024, when there were reported a total of 471 offenses and 5,341 arrests.
The police also noted that FIFA has appointed ADI Predictstreet as its official partner in developing the predicted market for the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
Police also wish to warn residents of Hong Kong not to obtain access to illegal gambling websites using a VPN or another method as the key factor prohibiting access to illegal gambling sites is whether or not there is a financial transaction between a resident of Hong Kong and an illegal foreign bookmaker, regardless of how access is obtained.
