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SCMP Reporter

The move is part of an international market-building strategy by Betdaq, ahead of next year's World Cup soccer finals and discussions in Hong Kong regarding legalised soccer gambling.

Betdaq first went live on September 20 with more than 700 individuals from 27 countries registered as members.

Ireland-based The Betting Exchange (Betdaq), a recently launched online gambling brokerage, will offer Chinese-language support starting this month to attract cyber-punters in Greater China.

Mr Hartnett explained that Betdaq offered person-to-person betting, with the exchange deducting a commission rate of 1 per cent for each bet. There is supposed to be no limit on the size of any individual order and no closure of winning accounts.

'The full Betdaq service has gone live to a worldwide audience, and Asia - especially China, Hong Kong and Taiwan -  is a very important market for us,' said Betdaq communications director Rob Hartnett.

The minimum bet on the exchange is US$100 to accept an existing offer or US$500 to make a new one. US dollars have been chosen as the medium of exchange to accommodate international membership.

He added: 'The Betdaq system also is highly encrypted and built to handle a large amount of transactions, as much as three quarters of a million bets an hour.'

All deals are transparent, except that clients do not know each other. Members are provided with plenty of information about a select range of sporting events on which they can bet.

'We want to establish a track record first before we start speaking with legislative authorities in markets where the area of online betting is a sensitive issue,' he said.

'We have designed the exchange from the bettors' perspective,' Mr Hartnett said. 'That is why having Chinese-language support is essential for us to effectively tap into the sophisticated community of punters in China, particularly those in Hong Kong.'

Secretary for Home Affairs Lam Woon-kwong launched a consultation paper which sets out a possible programme for legalisation and strongly indicated the Government favouring the granting of the soccer gambling licence to the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

He also said Betdaq was closely studying legal and marketing issues in each country in Asia as the exchange moved to expand its international presence.

The paper also pointed to one unnamed European country, believed to be Britain, as a centre of offshore and online gambling for Hong Kong punters. Two recent surveys put the number of potential soccer gamblers in Hong Kong at between 120,000 and 340,000.

In June this year, Hong Kong authorities unveiled a blueprint that could see soccer gambling legalised in time for next year's World Cup finals and tackle Hong Kong's illegal betting market, which was estimated to be worth HK$20 billion a year.

'The arena of exchange betting is growing rapidly and Betdaq aims to accelerate this by embracing the latest technology to cater for medium to high-value betting,' Mr Hartnett said.

Critics have accused the Government of favouring legalisation to boost betting tax revenues while ignoring the social costs.

Besides taking on soccer events such as the World Cup and the Uefa Cup, as well as golf, Betdaq plans to focus on racing in Asia. Major tennis events will be added later.



Betting broker takes aim at China punters