The Hong Kong Jockey Club increased the number of non-local races it may simulcast and take bets on from January 2024, according to a government consultation paper published on 20 January 20251. The quarterly quota for simulcast races rose from 10 to 25, and the cap on non-local races on each simulcast day rose from nine to 121.
The change was described in a paper from the Betting and Lotteries Commission, a statutory advisory body set up under the Betting Duty Ordinance (Cap. 108) that advises the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs on the regulation of horse race betting, football betting and lotteries1. The commission published the paper to seek public views on a further Jockey Club proposal to raise the quotas again1.
The club reported that after the January 2024 increase, average traffic to illegal gambling websites fell 12 percent1. Simulcast races account for about 10 percent of total horse race betting turnover1.
The paper set out the scale of the illegal market the club says the quotas are meant to address. It said the number of people in Hong Kong taking part in illegal horse race gambling in 2023 was 28 percent higher than in 2021, with the number betting on non-local races up about 43 percent1. Average baseline traffic to illegal gambling websites rose 246 percent, and traffic related to non-local races rose 329 percent on days when a top-100 Group 1 race was run and the club did not simulcast it1.
The club said the current limits leave it unable to offer all major international races through legal channels. Between 2021 and 2023, 134 non-local races were rated among the world's top 100 Group 1 races, and the club simulcast 47, 51 and 64 of them across recent seasons1. For 2024/25 it plans to simulcast 71 such races, leaving 63 outside legal channels1.
The club is now asking the government to raise the quotas as follows1:
- Raise the per-season simulcast race cap from 25 to 40 from the 2025/26 season and from 40 to 55 from 2026/271
- Raise the simulcast day cap from 37 to 53 from 2025/26 and from 53 to 70 from 2026/271
What it means for players
Simulcast betting in Hong Kong covers non-local races shown and offered for betting on local race days and on designated simulcast days. The higher quotas mean more overseas races, including top-100 Group 1 events, are available through the Jockey Club rather than only through unlicensed operators. The club states that betting on non-local races through its pools is the regulated route, and that illegal sites are linked to problem gambling and criminal activity1. The paper says punters aged 18 to 21 make up less than 1 percent of simulcast bettors, and about 80 percent are 40 or older1. It does not set out any change to the legal age for betting or to the races on which locals may bet. Details of how the higher quotas affect horse racing betting in Asia and gambling in Hong Kong more broadly have not been reported beyond the figures in the paper.
What happens next
It said the secretariat may publish submissions for media and public viewing unless the sender asks for them to be kept private1. No decision date on the proposal has been reported.
Sources1 sources
- 香港賽馬會增加賽馬博彩活動的建議, hyab.gov.hk
