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Betting escapes tax axe

Updated at 5.31pm: Betting duties were not raised during Wednesday's budget, but the Financial Secretary made a point of revealing that he had been ''very tempted'' to increase them as they were not related to livelihood.

''But having considered the hard facts, I have come to the conclusion that this would be counterproductive,'' he told legislators and officials gathered in the Legislative Council Chamber.

Though betting turnover per horse race has decreased, perhaps because of the economic downturn, other gambling activities such as using illegal bookmakers, extraterritorial betting, gambling on football matches and Internet betting, have soared.

''Illicit activities have become so widespread that dividend payouts are openly advertised in the media. I was staggered to hear that even conservative estimates placed the annual turnover on these illicit gambling activities at tens of billions of dollars,'' Mr Tsang said.

He was concerned that increasing the cost of legal gambling would push more people towards illicit avenues.

''To address the problem, we need a two-pronged approach. First, we mush step up enforcement action against illegal gambling to maintain law and order in Hong Kong,'' he said.

''Second, we must face up to reality. There has been increasing interest in, and demand for, soccer betting within the community. This has become so popular that it is unlikely to be curbed.

''We cannot arrest all the Hong Kong residents placing illegal bets on soccer matches nor can we stifle overseas bookmaking.

''Rather than aiming to achieve the impossible, we should examine the case for providing a legal avenue for soccer betting. With the approach of the World Cup in 2002, we need to address the problem urgently and in a rational and objective manner,'' he said, calling for views from the entire community.

revealed he had been ''very tempted'' to increase betting tax as it was not related to livelihood.

''But having considered the hard facts, I have come to the conclusion that this would be counterproductive,'' he told legislators and officials gathered in the Legislative Council Chamber.

Though betting turnover per horse race has decreased, perhaps because of the economic downturn, other gambling activities such as using illegal bookmakers, extraterritorial betting, gambling on football matches and Internet betting, have soared.

''Illicit activities have become so widespread that dividend payouts are openly advertised in the media. I was staggered to hear that even conservative estimates placed the annual turnover on these illicit gambling activities at tens of billions of dollars,'' Mr Tsang said.

He was concerned that increasing the cost of legal gambling would push more people towards illicit avenues.

''To address the problem, we need a two-pronged approach. First, we mush step up enforcement action against illegal gambling to maintain law and order in Hong Kong,'' he said.

''Second, we must face up to reality. There has been increasing interest in, and demand for, soccer betting within the community. This has become so popular that it is unlikely to be curbed.

''We cannot arrest all the Hong Kong residents placing illegal bets on soccer matches nor can we stifle overseas bookmaking.

''Rather than aiming to achieve the impossible, we should examine the case for providing a legal avenue for soccer betting. With the approach of the World Cup in 2002, we need to address the problem urgently and in a rational and objective manner,'' he said, calling for views from the entire community.

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