Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges is confident the government will this season give the green light to the commingling of betting pools - where other countries can place bets in Hong Kong's multimillion-dollar pools, reports the HK Racing Post. Its report says: Engelbrecht-Bresges wants to get his hands on the estimated HK$3 billion sloshing around in other countries' betting pools - which would generate more than HK$150 million in tax revenue for the government. Having fi
Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges is confident the government will this season give the green light to the commingling of betting pools - where other countries can place bets in Hong Kong's multimillion-dollar pools, reports the HK Racing Post.
Its report says: Engelbrecht-Bresges wants to get his hands on the estimated HK$3 billion sloshing around in other countries' betting pools - which would generate more than HK$150 million in tax revenue for the government. Having finally been given approval for five more race meetings each season - the first of 83 meetings starts next Sunday - Engelbrecht-Bresges said he would now up the ante for commingling to be introduced.
Australian racing fans, for instance, can watch and bet on Hong Kong's races every meeting, but their money is bet into a tiny Australian pool. Under a commingling agreement, Australian betting operators would send those bets through to the much larger and more attractive pools in Hong Kong. And so would South Africa, France and other jurisdictions around the globe. Or they would if there was not a problem with double taxation. Currently, the Jockey Club must pay full tax on its gross revenue for these overseas bets with nothing to offer the foreign operator for profit, so it is not viable.
"It is very complex and it has not been on the government's list of priorities, but I think that from our discussions lately, the principles are now being understood and I'm optimistic we could go for Legco's approval and reach a final implementation some time this season," Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
He said there was a lot happening in commingling in Australia, South Africa, France and the US, but that Hong Kong had been slow out of the gates because of the tax situation.
"If we can participate, I think the HK$3 billion now bet on our racing can become four, perhaps even five billion. Even at the lower rate of tax, that would be at least HK$150 million for the government ... I expect internet betting to continue to grow and the danger is that other countries will start to pool their Hong Kong bets with each other and make a very attractive business without us."