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Illegal gambling sites will not be blocked in Hong Kong, says regulator

Hong Kong has ruled out Singapore-style measures to stifle the multibillion-dollar online gambling business, amid growing fears internationally about connections to organised crime.

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Illegal gambling suspects in Macau. Photo: Imagine China

Hong Kong has ruled out Singapore-style measures to stifle the multibillion-dollar online gambling business, amid growing fears internationally about its connections to organised crime.

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Draft legislation allowing Singaporean authorities to block access to unlicensed betting websites was introduced this month to tackle a global business that according to a Sunday Morning Post investigation has significant ties to Hong Kong and Macau.

Online betting - the profile and reach of which has seen it embraced as a major advertiser by most of the world's major soccer leagues - is estimated to turn over hundreds of billions of US dollars each year.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club says city punters lose HK$12 billion a year betting online. The club's director of security and integrity, Martin Purbrick, said the business was a key component in what he called the "international expansion and legitimisation of organised crime".

A spokesman for the Home Affairs Bureau, which is ultimately responsible for gaming laws in Hong Kong, said sufficient legislation was in place and it would not go down Singapore's road.

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"Respecting freedom to access information, we do not block one's internet access," a spokesman said. "We have adopted a multipronged strategy which includes regulation, law enforcement, public education and provision of counselling and treatment services."

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