ExclusiveJockey Club to pivot bulk of HK$1 billion basketball betting plan to curb illicit football wagering
Source says club’s main concern is illegal wagering and that it will work with government to solve crisis over basketball betting pause
Hong Kong’s sole legal betting operator had earmarked HK$1 billion (US$127.7 million) and hired 180 people to develop a basketball wagering system, but will now take a financial hit after the government announced this week it was halting plans for its roll-out, a source has said.
The source close to the Hong Kong Jockey Club told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday that it had already invested HK$400 million for preparatory work, including setting up a dedicated basketball betting system, and planned to commit another HK$600 million next month for related infrastructure.
Despite the setback, the insider said the investment originally set to be injected next month would also be used to modernise the current system for football wagering and guard against the illegal betting market.
The source said the club could absorb the financial impact of the investment for now.
Overall, however, the source expressed concern that its charitable contributions could be affected by the absence of basketball betting income and the potential extension of an extra annual betting duty imposed by the government since 2023 for a five-year period.
Even then, the bigger worry was the proliferation of illegal betting, the source said, adding that both the club and the government were concerned about this trend and the rise of prediction markets.