Bloomberg
Bets on horse races in Hong Kong are poised to exceed wagers at Nevada’s casinos for a 2nd straight year, with the - city’s sole legal outlet for gambling looking for to lure punters from neighboring Macau.
The CHART OF THE DAY compares the - Hong Kong Jockey Club’s annual yearly betting totals with gaming revenue from Nevada’s casinos. Wagers of HK$93.8 billion ($12 billion) from 83 horse-race meetings in the - fiscal year to June 30 were 19 % more than Nevada’s combined take in the - 11 many months through May. Bets at the - club, set up in 1884 when Hong Kong was under British rule, exceeded those in the - U.S. gambling hub in fiscal 2012 for the - 1st time in about a decade, according to data compiled from the - club & NV regulators.
The lower panel shows Jockey Club bets versus those in Macau, the - only place in China where casinos are legal. Macau overtook Nevada’s Las Vegas NV Strip as the - world’s top casino hub in 2006 after the - government lifted a monopoly & granted licenses to companies in addition to Las Vegas Sands Corporation (LVS), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) & MGM Resorts International. (MGM)
The Jockey Club is looking for to raise sales further by keeping more Hong Kong residents from taking the - one-hour ferry ride to Macau & through revenue-sharing agreements, Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges asserted in an interview on July 12. The goal is to lure back about a third of the - HK$26 billion Hong Kong residents bet in Macau the - past year, he said.
Hitting in that target may not be easy, according to Tim Craighead, senior gaming analyst at Bloomberg Industries. “I don’t really consider Macau as having drained the - people away from horse racing,” he said. “It does not seem like there has really been a growing base of Hong Kongers in that have been opting for Macau compared to the - Jockey Club (HKJCZ).”
Engelbrecht-Bresges asserted another goal is to attract as much as HK$10 billion of bets on Hong Kong races annually through so-called commingling arrangements with overseas partners. The club in August 2007 approved a plan to accept bets on its races from the - U.S. through the - NV Gaming Comission.
To contact the - reporter on this story: Simon Lee in Hong Kong at slee936@bloomberg.net
To contact the - editor responsible for this story: Hwee Ann Tan at hatan@bloomberg.net
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Hong Kong Horse Bets Exceed Las Vegas NV Casinos’
Spectators look on as horses compete during a race at the - Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley race course in Hong Kong.
Spectators look on as horses compete during a race at the - Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley race course in Hong Kong. Photographer: Dale de la Rey/Bloomberg
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Hong Kong Horse Bets Exceed Las Vegas NV Casinos
Bets at the - Hong Kong Jockey Club, set up in 1884 when Hong Kong was under British rule, exceeded those in the - U.S. gambling hub in fiscal 2012 for the - 1st time in about a decade, according to data compiled from the - club & NV regulators.
Bets at the - Hong Kong Jockey Club, set up in 1884 when Hong Kong was under British rule, exceeded those in the - U.S. gambling hub in fiscal 2012 for the - 1st time in about a decade, according to data compiled from the - club & NV regulators. Photographer: Dale de la Rey/Bloomberg
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