Hong Kong's growing economic woes are beginning to discourage even the territory's vaunted die-hard gamblers, dealing a further blow to government revenues.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club raked in HK$840 million [US$107.7 million] in revenues on Sunday on the first day of the horse racing season, down 12.4 percent from the same day last year. Club officials attributed the plunge in part to the economic downturn. Rain was another factor.
The government said last Friday that Hong Kong's economy grew by just 0.5 percent in the second quarter, its weakest level since the spring of 1999, and some analysts warned it was on the brink of its second recession in less than three years.
Growing reports of layoffs have made people more cautious than ever to part with their money and the jitters appear to be spilling over even to the race course.
The Shatin course looked unusually bare on Sunday with some seats empty and the typically festive opening day mood subdued, local newspapers reported. Only 43,373 people attended Sunday's gathering, down 26 percent down from last year. It was the lowest turnout the club has recorded in five years for the first meeting of the season.
The opening races traditionally draw huge crowds as avid punters believe that winning will bring good fortune for the rest of the gambling season.
Even at the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1998, 61,281 people attended races marking the beginning of the gambling year.
The Jockey Club is the only legal bookmaker in the gambling-mad territory and Hong Kong's largest taxpayer, contributing about 11 percent of the government's tax revenues. It paid HK$12.5 billion [US$1.6 billion] in tax and duties in the 2000/2001 season and returned most of its takings to local charities.
The Jockey Club has also said lower revenues resulted from illegal betting, which in recent years has been fuelled by the advent of online bookies.
Offshore gaming operators now run a gamut of services and Hong Kong gamblers can bet on virtually anything -- from sports events and casino games to beauty contests -- via the Internet. Many illicit operators offer better odds and higher rates of return.
Jockey Club Chief Executive Lawrence Wong urged the government on Sunday to speed up the passage of legislation against illegal bookies.
"This is a great loss not only to the Jockey Club but to the people of Hong Kong. It means a loss in revenue and this will eventually hurt taxpayers," yesterday's iMail newspaper quoted Wong as saying.
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