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Hong Kong season finale breaks single race meeting turnover record
An extraordinary 2022/23 Hong Kong horse racing season ended in style on Sunday, 16 July at Sha Tin Racecourse, with the 88th and final meeting of the season setting a new turnover record for both a single race meeting and the season finale meeting of HK$2.065 billion (approx. £202 million) – an increase of 1.3% year-on-year – since the establishment of the HKSAR in 1997.
In total, the season’s 88 meetings saw 835 Hong Kong races and 299 overseas simulcast races and posted turnover of HK$141.1 billion (approx. £13.8 billion), representing a slight 0.5% increase on the 2021/22 season.
The increasing popularity of the simulcast of overseas races and the increasing appreciation of the global nature of racing contributed to a 12.5% growth in simulcast turnover to over HK$11.8 billion (approx. £1.2 billion).
While the majority of simulcast turnover comes from Hong Kong customers, which registered an 11.3% growth to HK$10.5 billion (approx. £1 billion), turnover generated via World Pool from the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s (HKJC) overseas customers and partners grew by 23% to HK$1.3 billion (approx. £127 million).
The turnover of all simulcast races conducted under the World Pool Brand (including both Hong Kong and overseas customers) increased from HK$6.2 billion (approx. £606 million) in the 2021/22 season to HK$7.3 billion (approx. £714 million), representing a 18.5% increase.
The HKJC have continued to increase the number of World Pool races to 24 days this season featuring many of the LONGINES Top 100 Group 1 races, while also broadening World Pool partnerships to include racing from Australia, Saudi Arabia and Germany for the first time.
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “Under such a challenging economic situation, our overall season racing turnover of HK$141.1 billion is very satisfactory. The strength of the turnover reflects the quality of our products and the on-going support of our customers. However, we will stay vigilant as there will be significant challenges from offshore bookmakers following the reopening of borders and also illegal bookmakers.
“To ensure our racing will stay competitive and maintain its world-class status, we will re-invest in racecourse assets and enhance customer experience. We will also grasp the unique development opportunity in the GBA under the ‘One Country Two Systems’ principle. After all, the Club is acting for the betterment of society. All we do is to contribute more to our community with a strategic focus that best meets the needs of Hong Kong people.”
Zac Purton and John Size set new records
The 2022/23 season saw new records set on the track too, with trainer John Size becoming the first trainer to win 12 Hong Kong trainers’ championships. The Australian master trainer has now trained 1493 winners in Hong Kong and continues to excel with an uncanny ability to patiently develop young talent into elite top-level performers.
Zac Purton clinched his sixth Hong Kong jockeys’ championship with a single-season record of 179 wins, breaking Joao Moreira’s previous record of 170.
Home-grown jockey Vincent Ho received the Tony Cruz Award – given to the leading local rider with the most wins in the season – for a fourth time.
With only 1,250 horses in training – or around 0.7 percent of the world’s horse population – Hong Kong’s racing once again displayed its world-class quality in 2022/23.
Golden Sixty, the first horse in the history of Hong Kong racing to have secured three consecutive Horse of the Year crowns, and fellow G1 winners, Lucky Sweynesse and Romantic Warrior, are firmly entrenched in the top seven of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
They delivered astounding performances against international rivals in the international spotlight on FWD Champions Day on 30 April 2023 and led a clean sweep of the three Group 1 features of the day – G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m), G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) and G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m).
Engelbrecht-Bresges, said: “Hong Kong’s world-class racing is not only built on our state-of-art racing facilities, but more importantly a rich and growing pool of racing talents across all levels from trainers, jockeys, veterinarians to stable assistants and farriers. The Hong Kong Jockey Club is committed to attracting world-class talents from overseas and nurturing high-potential home-grown talents. I am delighted to see our racing talents and the horses they train, and take care of, deliver remarkable performances this season to local and global fans. They are the future of Hong Kong’s racing.”
Development of racing in Mainland China
Another important highlight of the 2022/23 season is that Conghua Racecourse (CRC) has demonstrated its critical role in supporting Hong Kong’s racing as well as the development of the equine industry in the Greater Bay Area.
CRC has fully utilised its state-of-the-art facilities to best accommodate, train and prepare horses to return to Sha Tin and Happy Valley racecourse for racing. In the past season, CRC has produced 172 wins by 138 horses.
Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “The importance of CRC will continue to grow further with the significant work we are undertaking with Sha Tin’s stable refurbishment to meet the future needs of trainers. CRC will also serve as the centre stage of international-standard racing in the Mainland, starting from the first race meeting in 2026 with the establishment of an iconic grandstand enabling visitors from all fronts to enjoy and experience Hong Kong’s world-class racing.”
Hong Kong racing will restart for the 2023/24 season on 10 September.
One of Brazil’s most iconic music exports, Alok, will headline the INFINITY Lisbon at SBC Summit, delivering his signature fusion of Brazilian rhythms and electronic dance music to the global event audience.
Set to raise the roof with an unforgettable fusion of lights and sound, the MEO Arena, home to SBC Summit’s ‘Super Stage’ during the day, will shift into high gear on September 18 as it transforms into the venue for the INFINITY Lisbon. Having hosted global icons like Beyoncé and The Weeknd, the arena promises an electrifying night designed to captivate the global gaming community.
Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC, said: “The INFINITY is about blending high-level business networking with unforgettable experiences, and bringing someone of Alok’s caliber to the stage takes that to a whole new level. I’m proud that we’re able to deliver this kind of energy and entertainment to our attendees.”
Alok rose to global fame with his breakout hit ‘Hear Me Now’—now nearing 850 million streams on Spotify—and has since become a trailblazer in the Brazilian Bass genre. Ranked 4th in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs for three consecutive years (2021–2023), he commands a massive global following with nearly 22 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 29 million Instagram followers.
In addition to headlining some of the world’s biggest festivals, including Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival, and Lollapalooza, Alok has collaborated with international stars such as Dua Lipa, Jason Derulo, and Ed Sheeran. His influence extends into gaming culture as well, with his inclusion as a playable character in the hit game Garena Free Fire.
Beyond the stage, Alok is a passionate philanthropist and the founder of the Alok Institute, which supports educational programs, environmental preservation, and social impact projects across Brazil.
He also champions the next generation of artists through his labels Controversia Records and UP Club Records—platforms dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and promoting emerging talent in the electronic music scene, both in Brazil and internationally.
With accolades such as Forbes Brazil’s 30 Most Influential Brazilians and Spotify’s Top 100 Global, Alok is the ideal artist to headline SBC’s second INFINITY experience, according to Sojmark.
“The INFINITY brand was born in Lisbon. It’s where we dared to try something different, hosting our first-ever EDM-style festival with massive names like Don Diablo, Miss Monique, and Darude. The energy that night was off the charts, and it confirmed what we already felt: we had created something truly special for the industry,” he said.
The INFINITY Lisbon is the grand finale of SBC Summit, the industry’s fastest-growing global event uniting 30,000 professionals across betting, gaming, payments, and affiliation. After making the move from Barcelona, Lisbon’s second edition is gearing up for an even bigger return this September 16-18.
Sojmark added: “Funny enough, Alok was originally set to headline the INFINITY Rio, but plans shifted—and now it feels even more right to have him take the stage in Lisbon, where this whole journey began. It’s going to be one hell of a night.”
Asked about his vision for the INFINITY brand, the SBC CEO said: “I see it as a thank-you to our community—a celebration for those who believe in SBC and the connections built at our events. Experiences like this strengthen those bonds. That’s the power of joy, and that’s the essence of The INFINITY brand.”
The INFINITY Lisbon is an exclusive experience reserved for VIP Event Pass holders. Secure yours now for just €400 and take advantage of a €200 early bird discount.
Operators and affiliates can apply for complimentary VIP Event Passes.
The post Global EDM Icon Alok to Lead the INFINITY Lisbon at SBC Summit appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The phrase “drive for show, putt for dough” is a long-standing mantra in golf that emphasises the importance of putting over driving – specifically driving distance – in winning golf tournaments. But is it true?
While the saying has a clear implication, modern data from professional golf paints a more complex picture. Using the Shots Gained (SG) metric we can compare different parts of a player’s game to see if there really is a formula for winning.
Driving test
Using shot data gained from datagolf.com we can compare the top players in the world (according to the Official World Golf Ranking) over the last 12 months.
Comparing “shots gained off the tee” with “shots gained putting” seems to turn the myth on its head – the top players gain a higher proportion of their shots off the tee than from putting. For players ranked in the Top 10, nearly 0.8 shots are gained from driving as opposed to around 0.3 for putting. Whilst the differential narrows as the players’ ranking decreases, for players ranked 90 – 100, driving still gains more than 0.2 shots more putting.
This ability to reliably gain strokes through driving gives top pros an edge, setting them up for better scoring opportunities throughout a tournament. Over a whole season, this advantage compounds and allows them to stay at the top of the leaderboards.
The long and the short
However, since “shots gained off the tee” includes par 4 and 5s, the metric is not necessarily just a measure of the importance of driving distance, but also a measure of accuracy. So, whilst driving matters, is it the distance or the trajectory that is most advantageous for winning tournaments?
Again, using the top ranked players, it appears that distance stands out as a key factor for success, with Top 10 players on average gaining nearly 10 yards per drive compared with those outside the Top 100 throughout the year. This extra yardage translates into shorter approaches and better chances to attack pins throughout the season.
These findings are corroborated by Mark Broadie in his 2014 book Every Shot Counts, where he shows that for professionals, an extra 20 yards of driving distance is worth about three-quarters of a stroke per round. Relatively speaking, for the rest of us amateur golfers, driving distance becomes even more important for scoring than driving accuracy.
Putt to the test
While driving distance provides the groundwork for long term success – and is a characteristic that all the Top 10 players seemingly must possess – it doesn’t necessarily “bust the myth” that putting is more important for winning tournaments. Indeed, looking more deeply into the metrics for the outcome of individual tournaments uncovers the fact that putting becomes more instrumental for who comes out on top.
If we look instead at the finish positions in PGA events over the last 12 months, rather than the World Ranking, putting comes to the fore. For players finishing first, putting gained an average of 1.2 shots versus a gain of 0.7 for driving. Even for players finishing 30th – 35th, putting is worth more than 0.4 of a shot on average compared to driving. The fact that top finishers in a given event typically post higher gains from putting rather than from driving underscores the vital role of putting during tournament play where players have to capitalize on scoring opportunities and avoid mistakes on the green to win.
The outcome
Fundamentally the relationship between driving and putting reveals a balanced formula for success. Driving creates opportunities and contributes to consistency while putting often decides who makes the best of those opportunities and ultimately wins on a given weekend. In a game of ever-increasing competition and precision, power and finesse must work together to elevate players to the pinnacle of the sport.
With all the attention on these extremes of golf, other aspects are often overlooked. Completing the same analyses and including shots gained for “approach” and “around the green” makes it clear that there is one area that consistently contributes to wins and ranking, making it arguably the most important aspect of a players golf game.
The post Masters Betting: Drive for Show, Putt for Dough appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Best Interactive Sportsbook Experience 2025
Digitain Wins Sportsbook Excellence Award at SiGMA Americas Awards
Digitain has been awarded the “Best Interactive Sportsbook Experience 2025” title at the SiGMA Americas Awards in São Paulo, Brazil, for its outstanding innovation and commitment to delivering advanced sports betting solutions.
Digitain, a leading provider of Sportsbook and iGaming solutions, has won in the “Best Interactive Sportsbook Experience 2025” category at the SiGMA Americas Awards. This prestigious recognition highlights Digitain’s relentless drive for innovation, excellence, and its ability to deliver state-of-the-art Sportsbook solutions to its partners.
The SiGMA Americas Awards took place on April 7 during the BiS SiGMA Americas event in São Paulo, Brazil. The awards celebrate the best and brightest companies, recognizing exceptional achievements, groundbreaking innovations, and significant contributions to the industry.
Iain Hutchison, Digitain’s Chief Revenue Officer, stated: “We are honored to receive this award, which marks our fifth major recognition this year. It’s a powerful validation of our commitment to innovation and the strength of the partnerships we’ve built.
At Digitain, we continuously strive to develop forward-thinking Sportsbook solutions that meet the evolving needs of our partners in a highly competitive global market. We remain focused on continuous improvement, ensuring that our partners have access to the best tools and solutions to drive their business forward.”
As Digitain continues its expansion across regulated markets, this award further strengthens its position as a trusted partner for operators seeking a competitive edge in the dynamic field of sports betting.
The post Digitain Wins Sportsbook Excellence Award at SiGMA Americas Awards appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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