Hong Kong Porn Star Arrested For Allegedly Seducing Her Fans to Gamble Online
Posted on: June 25, 2026, 12:11h.
Last updated on: June 25, 2026, 12:11h.
- A Hong Kong adult film star is facing charges for “promoting or facilitating bookmaking” after allegedly marketing an illegal offshore online casino
- Erena So faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a HK$5 million (US$637,700) fine
- The platform allegedly targeted users in jurisdictions where online gambling is banned, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore
Hong Kong porn star Erena So is facing criminal charges for allegedly promoting an illegal online casino and sports betting platform.
Gambling in Hong Kong is illegal, both in-person and online. While casinos are permitted in neighboring Macau, online gambling is prohibited.
Prosecutors in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon District allege So, 29, violated the city’s criminal code by marketing an offshore gambling website on her various social media channels. So’s attorneys defended that the influencer turned porn star thought the operation was lawful and did not accept players located in Hong Kong.
Ho was charged with “promoting or facilitating bookmaking” before being released on bail. The charge comes with a possible penalty of seven years in prison and a HK$5 million (US$637,700) fine.
Porn Star Tempts Fans With Gambling
It was only earlier this week that So began using her social media to shill the online gambling and bookmaking operation to her many followers. In the spots, the Asia-facing internet gambling platform calls So a “poker goddess.”
Hong Kong prosecutors say the offshore casino that So allegedly promoted as a “brand ambassador” offers sports betting, slot machines, table games, live dealer, and esports. The unnamed platform claims to be “Asia’s most influential online gaming brand since 2018,” serving Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Online casino gambling in those three jurisdictions is banned. The So arrest charges detail that the online gambling brand in question is currently marketing heavily on the World Cup, trying to attract bettors to place their wagers with the operation.
So has great exposure in Japan, where she travels to make and disseminate her pornographic videos. Japan is at +4500 to win the World Cup, tied for the 12th-shortest odds.
Chinese Internet Firewall
The production and distribution of pornography is legal in Japan. It isn’t in China, where the production, sale, distribution, and consumption of porn is banned under the People’s Republic’s penal code.
China notoriously censors the domestic internet through the so-called “Great Firewall.” The internet barrier is also supposed to halt online casinos from entering the mainland, though many Chinese people use virtual private networks (VPN) to circumvent the digital fence.
Offshore casinos operating from markets like Curaçao, Malta, the Isle of Man, the Philippines, Panama, Costa Rica, and Anjouan aggressively market to the Chinese and lure many thousands of Mandarin-speaking mainlanders to work in their remote live dealer studios and call centers. There have been numerous reports of such businesses violating human rights and enslaving workers after being enticed with false promises of lavish pay.
No comments yet