Recalling the debate on introducing off-course betting, former secretary for home affairs Denis Bray said: 'When you change the law and make something illegal legal, you invariably get more of it.'
He was right. I can still remember how my mother and I began betting 30 years ago this week, when the Hong Kong Jockey Club launched its off-course operations. Naturally, it had long been possible to bet on horse races at the Chinese restaurant in one's neighbourhood. But as a law-abiding citizen, my mother always made sure she and her children stayed away on Saturday afternoons when the races were held. 'Gambling is bad and betting with the bookmakers there is illegal. The police will grab you,' she said.
As a child, however, I was most confused about this teaching. If gambling was so bad, how come she played mahjong almost every night when she was obviously not winning most of the time?
How come it was legal to bet on the races inside the Happy Valley racecourse but illegal to do so outside? If betting with unauthorised bookmakers was illegal, how come the races were broadcast live on radio, which obviously helped their operations?
I was never able to come up with satisfactory answers. But the moment the Jockey Club began to operate off-course betting centres, they did not matter any more.
What mattered more was that the moral and legal inhibitions that used to bar my mother from betting on horse races were suddenly gone. At long last, she and I, and many others, could legally take part in a pastime that had long been an important part of the life of a sizeable chunk of the population.
She would try to read the racing pages, asked neighbours who were long-time betters for tips, and then told me to go to the nearest centre - a 15-minute walk - to place the bets.
