【明報專訊】FACING A DECLINE IN BETTING REVENUES, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), has said in the club's annual report that there is a "strong case" to extend the club's licence to other forms of sports betting, especially basketball betting. However, a closer look at the performance report reveals that the club's turnover from legal betting in the past fiscal year has actually hit another record high. The fall in the total betting income is primarily due to the fact that the club has had to pay $2.4 billion to the government for the "special football betting duty".
In recent years, there is a trend for illegal bookmaking activities to go online and involve younger people. Illegal betting websites have made use of social media to vigorously attract customers. It is necessary for the authorities to step up their efforts in combating such activities. However, expanding the scope of lawful sports betting is not a panacea for the problem. The authorities must take into account the impacts of legalising of basketball betting on the community and youngsters, and they must not widen the scope of lawful gambling to provide short-term relief for the public coffers without due consideration.
The HKJC has recently announced its results for the 2023/24 financial year. Of the three legalised forms of betting, the total turnover in football betting increased by approximately 2.2% year on year to $160.3 billion, a new record high. Despite the fact that last year was not a year of major international football tournaments — there was neither a World Cup nor a European Championship — football betting turnover still reached a new high, which reflects the huge popularity of football betting in Hong Kong.
As for horse racing, the total betting turnover for last fiscal year was $136.1 billion, down by 3.1% year on year. This also marked the second consecutive year of falling turnover. The decline of horse racing betting in Hong Kong has been a long-term trend. After the pandemic, the consumption patterns of mainland tourists in Hong Kong have changed, with falling numbers of punters in the racecourses. This, presumably, has had a certain impact on the HKJC's betting turnover. While the club has actively expanded betting on overseas large-scale events in recent years, the gain has not been sufficient to offset the decline in the total betting turnover for local horse racing.
Hong Kong's economic recovery after the pandemic has fallen short of expectations. Still, the HKJC's total turnover from all types of legalised betting last year was as high as $304.9 billion, slightly higher than the $304.8 billion in the previous fiscal year. True, the increase was minimal, but at the very least there was not a decline. Instead, it actually reached an all-time high. If we compare it with the pre-pandemic levels, the HKJC's total betting turnover in year 2018/19 was actually $247.5 billion. In other words, the total betting turnover of the HKJC has risen by over 20% cumulatively over the past few years.
There are views that since it is difficult to root out illegal basketball betting, a better idea is to legalise it. But in fact, almost everything can be gambled on in the cyberworld. If we were to accept this logic, would it not follow that tennis, golf, and even the Olympics can be gambled on after the legalisation of basketball betting?
Some argue that among the four regions across the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong is the only one that does not have legalised basketball betting. However, the idea that "we must have what other people have" has never been a determining factor to legalise a form of gambling. Nor does Hong Kong's positioning as the centre in eight major areas include the "centre of gambling".
One of the reasons why illegal online gambling appeals to punters is that they employ many shenanigans, such as accepting loan bets. When it comes to cracking down on illegal gambling syndicates, trying to match what they have to offer is definitely not a viable solution. The authorities can learn from how the law is enforced in other regions. The active blocking of illegal betting websites, for example, has been adopted in several states in the US and can give Hong Kong food for thought.
明報社評2024.09.06：馬會收入雖下降 籃球開賭須三思
馬會博彩收入下降，行政總裁應家柏在年報稱，目前已有「足夠理據」支持將合法博彩範圍擴至其他體育項目，「特別是籃球博彩」，惟細看業績報告，馬會上財年合法博彩投注總額，其實再創歷史新高，博彩總收入下跌，主因只是因為要向政府繳付24億元「額外足球博彩稅」。
近年非法外圍博彩活動有網絡化及年輕化趨勢，外圍投注網站利用社交媒體大力吸客，當局有必要加強打擊，然而擴大合法賭波範圍，並非解決問題的萬靈丹，當局必須顧及籃球博彩合法化對社會及青少年的影響，更不能為了短期幫補庫房收入，就貿然擴闊合法賭博之門。
馬會日前公布2023/24財政年度業績，3項合法博彩項目中，足球博彩投注總額按年上升約2.2%，達到1603億元，寫下歷史新高。去年並非國際足球盛事之年，既無世界盃亦無歐國盃，足球投注額仍創新高，反映香港賭波風氣之盛。
賽馬方面，上財年投注總額為1361億元，按年跌了3.1%，亦是連續第2年錄得跌幅。本港賽馬賭馬活動不如昔，乃是長期趨勢；疫後內地客來港消費模式轉變，入場賭馬減少，對投注額相信也構成一定影響，即使近年馬會積極開拓海外大型賽事投注，仍不足以抵消本地賽馬投注總額的跌幅。
疫後本港經濟復蘇不似預期，惟馬會上年度各項合法博彩投注額，合計仍高達3049億元，稍稍高於之前財年的3048億元，雖說增幅近零，但至少並未下跌，反而創下歷史新高；若與疫前比較，2018/19年度馬會博彩投注總額為2475億元，換言之，過去數年馬會投注總額，其實累計增加超過兩成。
有意見認為，既然外圍籃球賭博難以杜絕，不如將其合法化，然而網上世界幾乎什麼都有得賭，按此邏輯，籃球賭博合法化之後，網球、高球甚至奧運，都可以開賭。
有意見認為，放眼兩岸四地，只有香港不設合法籃球博彩，然而「人有我有」從不是開賭與否的考慮因素；香港八大中心定位，也不包括「賭博中心」。
網上外圍賭博對賭客有吸引力，一大原因是它們搞了很多花招，例如接受借貸投注等。打擊這些外圍賭博集團，跟它們看齊肯定不是出路，當局可以借鑑其他地方的執法經驗，例如積極封鎖外圍投注網站，美國一些州份亦有類似措施，可供香港參考。
■ Glossary 生字 /
presumably : used to say that you think that sth is probably true
offset : to use one cost, payment or situation in order to cancel or reduce the effect of another
shenanigans : secret or dishonest activities that people find interesting or amusing