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Jockey Club director of security and integrity Martin Purbrick said the main message to the public was a simple reminder that betting with organisations or individuals other than the club was illegal.

Jockey Club concerned at rise of betting websites

Officials say they are working to mitigate the impact of illegal exchanges

Jockey Club officials say they are doing all they can to mitigate the impact of so-called illegal Asian betting exchanges and are concerned websites like CITIbet and AA-Star are becoming more accessible to everyday punters.

Earlier this year, ahead of the Fifa World Cup, the club formed a cross-department group to tackle the issue of Hong Kong residents betting with overseas operators and ran a campaign to raise public awareness.

Although goliath sports books IBC and SBO attracted much of the media attention at the time, officials are keeping a close watch on the exchanges, which bet on racing from around the world and allow account holders to bet on individual horses to lose.

Club officials are confident high prize money and the integrity measures in place in Hong Kong are enough of a deterrent to race fixing.

CITIbet and AA-Star are similar in nature to controversial English platform Betfair, but are structured in a way that allow "agents" to extend lines of credit to account holders.

Jockey Club director of security and integrity Martin Purbrick said the main message to the public was a simple reminder that betting with organisations or individuals other than the club was illegal.

"That's why we made an announcement before the World Cup, because we didn't feel that Hong Kong felt that way," he said.

"These platforms have become so all-pervasive and there has been such a growth in betting operators that customers were starting to feel there was nothing wrong with it."

CITIbet and AA-Star have also extended their reach - perhaps not growing as much in size financially, but making it easier for more people to play.

"It is increasingly easy to get access to it. You used to need to know someone to get an account, but what we can see from websites is agents are now advertising online," Purbrick said.

As the number of phones per Hong Kong resident has doubled since 2005, so has the amount lost illegally betting on sports.

The Jockey Club estimates Hong Kong residents lose HK$12 billion illegally across all sports, including racing, and a survey published by the club found that nearly one-fifth of people wrongly believed that betting through a non-HKJC channel was legal.

The club warned that illegal betting operations were inextricably linked with organised crime and drain tax revenue and charity efforts.

Professional punters say the platforms do not threaten the club's turnover.

"The exchanges offer no threat at all in terms of turnover, they are essentially capturing money for the club, the money gets back into the pools," one said, adding that big betting syndicates played the exchanges, which offer huge rebates on bets. "Why wouldn't they use it? As long as you can find a good agent and a jurisdiction where you can set up and get paid."

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Jockey Club troubled by betting sites
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