bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The government and Jockey Club announce final details, with betting open from August 1

Government and Hong Kong Jockey Club officials yesterday announced the details of legalised soccer betting, ending more than three years of controversy surrounding what is expected to be a $30 billion-a-year industry.

From August 1, Hong Kong punters will be allowed to gamble up to $200,000 a day on the world's top soccer leagues, including the English Premier League, Spain's La Liga, the Italian Serie A and Germany's Bundesliga.

The minimum bet will be $10 and the maximum dividend per account on each betting day will be $1 million.

Major international tournaments and important cup fixtures, such as the Champions League, Uefa Cup, the 2004 European Championships and English FA Cup, will also be open for betting later in the season.

Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli declared yesterday's signing of the club's licence to run the industry as a 'significant milestone' for the club.

'We have taken on the heavy responsibility of tackling illegal football betting.

'Back in 1973, we were given a similar task to tackle illegal betting on horseracing. Our initial forecast for the first year of operation is for turnover of about $30 billion.'

He said total profit was expected to be about 10 per cent, or $3 billion a year, with $1.5 billion going to betting duty and the other half to operational costs.

Authorities have vowed to crack down on the underground bookmaking industry, saying it was the start of 'a long battle ahead'.

The historic first match open for legal betting will be the Bundesliga's opening match of Bayern Munich vs Frankfurt - with odds due to be posted the day before the game.

'The club starts its operation with major European leagues and tournaments because these matches are the focus of illegal bookmaking activities,' said Henry Chan Shing-kai, a club executive director.

Soccer fans will be able to bet on the total number of goals scored in a match; predict the correct score result; gamble on the result of a match that ends in a home win, a draw, or an away win; or speculate on the home/away/draw result for a series of matches.

Under the five-year licence conferred on the club yesterday, an independent commission - including a panel of experts from a wide range of professional sectors - will also be established to tackle compulsive or pathological gambling.

This followed concern that legalising soccer betting would unleash  a wave of social problems for Hong Kong's gambling-mad residents.

'We understand the concern of society, and with the administration, we will start work to deal with the problem of compulsive gamblers,' said Mr Arculli.

The Football Betting and Lotteries Commission, to be partly funded by an expected $1.5 billion a year in betting duty, would be responsible for monitoring the operations and impact of soccer betting in Hong Kong.

Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping yesterday welcomed the signing of the licence.

'This is a historic step in tackling the problem of illegal soccer gambling in Hong Kong,' he said.

'After three years and three months of comprehensive consultation and discussion, the passage of the Betting Duty Bill is finalised.'

About 3,000 extra staff have been recruited by the Jockey Club and more than $100 million invested in a high-tech computer system to cope with the expected flood of bets.



Soccer betting ready for kick-off