Hong Kong police plan to crack down on illegal gambling activities involving cryptocurrencies during the European Cup

It has been exclusively revealed by Sing Tao Global Network that offshore gambling websites have set their sights on the European Football Championship and are enticing Hong Kong residents to engage in illegal gambling using cryptocurrency. Data from the Asia Racing Federation shows that the number of gambling websites that accept the top 5 cryptocurrencies by global market value, including BTC, ETH, Tether, BNB and Solana, has increased by 25% from 648 in 2020 to 811 in 2024. Among the 20 most popular illegal gambling websites in Hong Kong, 12 of them accept cryptocurrency bets. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong police stated that they will continue to adopt a four-pronged approach of prevention, education, intelligence and enforcement to crack down on any form of illegal gambling activities. In response to the possible occurrence of illegal offshore gambling activities during the European Football Championship, the police have strengthened their intelligence gathering and will take appropriate law enforcement action in a timely manner.