Hong Kong officials: Betting on sports through "prediction markets" is illegal gambling.

CoinFeed reported on April 17th that, according to RTHK, the Hong Kong government has decided to halt the development of a basketball betting project. Secretary for Home Affairs and Youth Affairs, Alice Mak, stated that the "prediction market" has developed rapidly in recent years, with monthly transaction volume increasing from less than US$100 million the year before last to over US$13 billion last year, with nearly 40% of transactions related to sports. The authorities are concerned that launching a new betting project at this time would increase public attention to and even participation in illegal gambling through the "prediction market." Therefore, they believe that further research should be conducted before deciding on the next steps, and the development of new betting projects should be stopped for now. Some legislators stated that the government's decision after careful consideration is understandable. Mak Mei-kuen stated that existing, regulated betting projects have established relatively mature monitoring and management systems, which she believes can control the risks.