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Racing Turnover Hits 14-year Low
Outgoing Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli has urged policy makers to pay attention because the bill to reform taxation of horse racing should be passed by the Legislative Council lest the Jockey Club suffer.
The conclusion of the 2005/06 racing season at Sha Tin determined that the total turnover for the racing year was at its lowest level since 1992.
While analysts note that total betting on the last racing day has gone over HK$1 billion, the annual turnover of HK$60.05 billion was still the lowest since the 1992/93 season (HK$60.14 billion).
This year's turnover fell by 4.2% as opposed to the last season's level and almost 35% down on its peak of HK$92.3 billion reached in the 1996/97 season.
Meanwhile, the government's racing revenues also dropped from HK$8.35 billion last year to HK$7.94 billion, which translates to a fall of HK$409 million, or 4.9%.
Under the taxation reform proposal the government is guaranteed a minimum of HK$8.3 billion, plus 60% of gross profits.
Analysts and observers agree that the Jockey Club will find encounter great difficulty in competing with illegal bookmakers and offshore betting syndicates if the taxation reform is not implemented in time.
Jockey Club chief executive Lawrence Wong Chee-kong has also appealed to the Legislative Council: "It would present a great opportunity to arrest this declining trend and enable the club to compete more effectively with illegal and offshore bookmakers," he said.
