A mahjong school is a licensed venue in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 where people over the age of 18 can play mahjong

Mahjong

Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...

.

Since 1871 privately-run gambling

Gambling

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

 businesses have been banned in Hong Kong; however since mahjong is such a popular game, mahjong-hosting venues have been tolerated by the Hong Kong government. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the government has required such venues to obtain Mahjong

Mahjong

Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...

/Tin Kau Licences with the constraint that such businesses must be known, in Legal English

Legal English

Legal English is the style of English used by lawyers and other legal professionals in the course of their work. It has particular relevance when applied to legal writing and the drafting of written material, including:...

, as Mahjong Schools - a white lie to get around the ban on privately-run gambling businesses. Although technically "school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

s", these Mahjong/Tin Kau Licences are issued by Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority.

As of 2009 there are licensed mahjong schools in Hong Kong, mostly in densely-populated areas such as Mong Kok

Mong Kok

Mong Kok , less often known as Argyle , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong...

, Yau Ma Tei

Yau Ma Tei

Yau Ma Tei, also known as Waterloo , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.-Name:Yau Ma Tei is a phonetic transliteration of the name 油麻地 in Cantonese...

, Wan Chai

Wan Chai

Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often called...

 and Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po, or Shamshuipo, is an area of Sham Shui Po District, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei. Sham Shui Po is known for its street market for electronic devices.-History:Sham Shui Po...

.

Rules

If a player plays mahjong in a mahjong school, he has to pay a portion of his gain if he wins a game. This is the main source of income of a mahjong school. To attract players, mahjong schools provide free drinks, free food, and sometimes lucky money. In addition to resident umpires, modern mahjong schools also have closed-circuit television

Closed-circuit television

Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....

installed to deter cheating and theft.

There are only 0 fan hand and 1 fan hand. Higher score hands are counted as 1 fan. Hence the pace of a game is quite fast as the players do not spend time on getting high scores.