3,000 teachers petition against legalisation, doubts grow over student awareness campaign

Schools can do little to stop gambling spreading among students, educators claim as a Government consultation on legalising soccer betting nears its end.

The Government hopes to make billions of dollars in taxes each year through the legislation and gain control of increasingly prevalent Internet betting.

The three-month consultation on the proposal ends on Friday. But a coalition of 49 educational and other organisations has collected more than 3,000 signatures from teachers who oppose the idea. It has requested a meeting with Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung next week and will stage another signature campaign at Mongkok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay and Sha Tin today, coinciding with a protest march planned by the Christian Anti-Soccer Gambling Alliance.

The consultation paper said it could be more effective to foster a 'responsible attitude towards gambling' among youths to discourage them from the habit. It called on schools to include the issue in moral education lessons.

Radio Television Hong Kong, according to the paper, has also been commissioned to produce programmes instilling positive values among students.

Wong Hak-lim, spokesman for the coalition and president of the Professional Teachers' Union organisation committee, said it was ridiculous that the Government was seeking to legalise soccer betting on the one hand while calling on schools to prevent youths from falling prey to gambling on the other.