Casinos in Macau will cost us dear: Jockey Club
Macau's flourishing casino business may draw an extra $15 billion away from the Hong Kong Jockey Club each year, the club chairman has warned.
Ronald Arculli also said if the government gave the go-ahead to develop casinos on Lantau, the club should run the businesses as non-profit enterprises.
The club's own consultancy studies have estimated Hong Kong could lose $10 billion to $15 billion in betting turnover annually to Macau because of the growing casino industry.
The figures were based on Macau's own estimate of an annual $40 billion in profit this year.
'The amount of betting turnover [lost] could be enormous. We have to tackle the problem,' Mr Arculli told an RTHK radio programme yesterday.
He said the club had briefed the government on new casino proposals and betting duty changes in other places in the region, and called for suitable reforms to keep up with the trend.
Another proposal to curb the loss of turnover is to scrap the summer break on horse racing.
'We have to discuss with the government a package of measures, including taxes and operation ... each aspect has to be thoroughly considered,' he said.
Responding to the Liberal Party's call to develop casinos on Lantau, Mr Arculli, formerly the party's vice-chairman, believed there would be huge resistance from education and religious groups.
'I don't think we need casinos from a taxation point of view. But for the sake of tourism and Hong Kong's status as a financial centre, having casinos would make us more attractive,' he said.
Mr Arculli said if the government went ahead with such a plan, the Jockey Club should be allowed to run the business on a non-profit basis.
