Mark Six draw postponed over network glitch as Hong Kong Jockey Club suspends services at all centres for first time in history
Not-for-profit group investigating why all 102 branches were affected
The Mark Six draw scheduled for Tuesday night has been postponed after a glitch left punters unable to gamble at its 102 off-course centres across the city, marking the first time the Hong Kong Jockey Club had suspended all betting services at its outlets.
The breakdown happened when the centres opened for business at midday on Tuesday, a club spokesman said.
Repairs had been made and services resumed just before 2pm, he added.
But the club later announced that the Mark Six draw, originally scheduled for Tuesday night, would be postponed until Thursday. All accepted bets remain valid.
“This is to ensure that our customers will not be affected by the temporary interruption in betting services at the club’s off-course betting branches earlier on Tuesday,” it said. “They will be provided with sufficient time to purchase tickets.”
Other betting channels, including Interactive Services, eWin and Telebet were unaffected.
A spokesman said it was the first time in the organisation’s history that betting at all its off-course centres had been suspended.
The club was founded in 1884, and is the only authorised betting operator for racing and soccer.
It expected the first prizewinner of the Mark Six draw on Thursday to pocket HK$58 million (US$7.4 million).
Initial findings suggested the glitch was caused by an internal network issue, prompting the club to switch to another data centre.
It had to restart its systems and implement measures to ensure that all previously accepted bets would not be affected.
The club has launched an investigation.
“We will continue to investigate the details and closely monitor the performance of the systems,” it said. “We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
