Hong Kong Jockey Club urges Australia to target Asian online betting giants

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) has waded into the Australian government’s contentious review of its online betting regime.

Last week, The Australian reported that the HKJC had made a secret submission to the Australian government, which is due to release a report this month on how best to deal with competition from international gambling sites not holding Australian licenses, as well as whether to lift the longstanding prohibition of online in-play sports betting.

The HKJC’s submission, not so subtly titled Illegal Betting Markets and Links with Organized Crime, claimed that the integrity of Aussie sports and racing was under threat by Asian-licensed online bookmakers and their alleged “links with transnational crime syndicates.”

The HKJC submission singles out several Asian betting giants by name, including SBOBET, IBCBET (since rebranded as Maxbet) and the CITIbet betting exchange. The HKJC’s filing claims SBOBET and CITIbet received 40k visits from Australian IP addresses in the six months to September 2015, and that CITIbet’s Australian racing turnover is around 8% of the sum wagered with Australian-licensed tote operators.