Asia
Record turnover at Happy Valley for Hong Kong racing’s season finale
Hong Kong’s “season like no other” ended at Happy Valley on Wednesday 15th July with turnover of HK$1.6 billion (£160 million), a record for a fixture at the iconic city-side venue.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club navigated the uncertainty of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic decisively, implementing measures that protected public and employee health, and enabled the sport to continue; and also managed issues related to demonstrations in the city, which caused significant traffic disruptions to customers and staff, and which had a significant impact on attendance.
Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, commented: “While we recognise that the Coronavirus situation is an ongoing battle, and we must remain vigilant, I can say that it has been heartening to see the Hong Kong community pull together and play a crucial part in combatting its effects; the Hong Kong Jockey Club has been quick to reflect and enact those safeguarding measures and policies while continuing to race.
“We are pleased to have been able to complete a full season but of course our prime focus throughout, and a real challenge, was to act responsibly to protect the public health and safety of our staff, customers and the wider community, at every turn, while at the same time balancing that with the desire for our sport to continue.”
Turnover and contributions
Hong Kong’s total racing turnover in the 2019/20 season was HK$121.6 billion (£12.2 billion) which was down only 2.6 percent on the previous season and was still the third-highest ever despite COVID-19 placing severe pressure on domestic wagering in Hong Kong.
The turnover on Hong Kong racing by Hong Kong customers understandably declined by 8.3 percent due to the effects of the Club’s 100 OCCBs (off-course betting branches) being closed or operating on reduced opening from early February, and fans unable to attend the racecourse for almost half the season.
Turnover dipped by almost 26 percent in early February but wagering rallied through the later part of the season and climaxed with Happy Valley’s record turnover at the finale fixture. The impacts on OCBBs necessitated a change and resulted in the Club helping customers migrate online.
There were further positives as total commingling turnover increased to a record HK$23.58 billion (£2.36 billion), up 25.3 percent on last season; and Hong Kong racing fans continued to show a growing interest in the sport overseas, as evidenced in the 12.9 percent increase in the Club’s simulcast turnover.
Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “Our overall season’s racing turnover of more than HK$121 billion is pleasing in light of the significant challenges as it only reduced by 2.6 percent. Commingling continues to be a huge growth area for the Club.”
Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges noted the “strategic value of commingling,” in which people from around the world participate and bet on Hong Kong racing, and observed that the figures show the global appeal and growing interest in Hong Kong racing around the world.
“We are pleased with how popular our simulcasts are with Hong Kong customers and we are keen to do more,” he said.
“Furthermore, we are pleased with how much interest our customers have in our simulcast programmes from the leading race meetings around the world. We saw this even more in the second World Pool at Royal Ascot, which proved a huge success – with individual race turnover up by more than 49 percent on 2019 – and we look forward to expanding the World Pool concept next season, with Hong Kong as a vital hub for global wagering.”
The Hong Kong Jockey Club runs racing with a core purpose being the betterment of society as a whole; the Club is the city’s largest tax payer and this racing season alone has paid HK$12.113 billion (£1.21 billion) to the Hong Kong government, while a significant contribution, including special emergency COVID-19 funding support, has been paid in charitable contributions to a wide range of causes.
Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “There was a compelling public interest element to our desire to continue racing through COVID-19, from Chinese New Year to the end of the season, during which time our tax contribution from racing was more than HK$6.2 billion (£620 million). This has enabled us to not only keep donations at last year’s level but also increase it due to our contributions via the COVID-19 Emergency Fund.
“We are incredibly proud that the Club could continue to make such a contribution and, the benefits of completing a full season will be felt by millions of people across Hong Kong over the coming months.”
The CEO praised the resilience of the Hong Kong community and thanked racing fans, owners, Club members, horsemen, the media, and Club staff in particular, for their patience, dedication and efforts in ensuring the 2019/20 racing season was able to continue in safety.
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Asia
Faster Guest Entry at Korea’s INSPIRE Entertainment Resort’s Casino, Powered by Regula’s Technology
International guests arriving at South Korea’s largest foreigner-only casino, INSPIRE Entertainment Resort, now enjoy a significantly faster and more seamless check-in experience. Customer onboarding times have noticeably improved following the integration of Regula’s advanced identity verification technology. Regula Document Reader SDK, the most comprehensive ID verification solution in the world, integrates with the resort’s anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, boosting operational efficiency and compliance.
Seeking to enhance operational efficiency and meet evolving AML requirements, INSPIRE Entertainment Resort sought a faster and more accurate solution. The resort, which features a high-volume casino catering exclusively to foreign guests, needed a system capable of recognizing passports from around the globe with minimal friction.
Following vendor evaluations, INSPIRE selected Regula Document Reader SDK for its superior document reading speed, intuitive interface, and unmatched global ID coverage. Regula’s solution is powered by the company’s proprietary ID template database—the world’s largest—covering 15,000+ document templates across 254 countries and territories.
Deployed across six entrance stations, Regula Document Reader SDK enables real-time extraction and validation of critical ID data, such as name, date of birth, nationality, and passport number. This data is then passed directly to INSPIRE’s AML system, which in turn performs automated screening against external compliance and watchlist databases.
Since deploying Regula Document Reader SDK, INSPIRE Entertainment Resort casino has experienced:
- Faster document processing and guest entry.
- Significant reduction in manual rescans and staff workload.
- Consistently smooth onboarding, even during peak entry hours.
“As the team responsible for passport scanning at the casino, we’re very satisfied with the improvements Regula has brought. The speed of document processing has noticeably increased, and guest entry has become much smoother. It’s a reliable solution that has elevated the efficiency of our daily operations,” says Dr. Ilnam Lee, IT Director at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort.
“In industries like hospitality, every second counts. We’re happy to support INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in creating a faster and more secure guest onboarding experience while meeting strict AML requirements. Our focus is to make accurate identity verification seamless, even in complex international scenarios, and this project is a great example of that in action,” says Ihar Kliashchou, Chief Technology Officer at Regula.
The post Faster Guest Entry at Korea’s INSPIRE Entertainment Resort’s Casino, Powered by Regula’s Technology appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The Philippine Senate’s committee on games and amusement is going to launch an inquiry to discuss a series of bills and proposals put forward to address concerns over the growth of online gambling, with the outcome likely to determine whether the industry should be subject to tighter regulations or possibly a total ban.
The inquiry, scheduled to take place from Thursday 14 August, follows the initial filing by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian in early July of a bill seeking to tighten rules around online gaming and specifically around the ease of utilizing e-wallets for cash transactions on online sites. That bill prompted others to push for a total ban, with Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr since revealing he would consider such a ban pending the outcome of discussions with various industry stakeholders.
“On Thursday we will tackle the bills on online gambling in the Senate committee on games and amusements. I made a commitment to prioritize these bills because the problem is escalating. It’s already a crisis. So, we really need to take action to solve this problem,” Senator Erwin Tulfo, one of the leading proponents of a total ban, said.
“Our problem is, we were not ready. There is no regulation, and it is why people are gambling recklessly. There is no control of up to how much to gamble. Come what may. Entire salaries are being gambled. Anything is being placed as a bet. Even children are gambling now.”
Tulfo revealed that the Senate committee will discuss four bills, three resolutions and a privilege speech addressing the social impact of the online gambling industry – also known as remote gaming or eGames. As reported by PAGCOR, the eGames sector generated GGR of US$2 billion in the first six months of 2025 alone.
Industry stakeholders, including licensed operators, have in recent weeks rallied to opposed a total ban while promising to support the implementation of some restrictions. On Friday, a group of 19 licensed online gaming operators announced the formation of the PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines – a unified industry association they say is committed to responsible gaming, regulatory compliance, consumer protection and combatting illegal gambling.
The post Philippine Senate to Launch Inquiry into Online Gaming industry appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
MelBet has announced a new partnership with the СPL 2024 Champion Saint Lucia Kings.
As a Principal Partner, MelBet, the iGaming company, will support the Kings on their journey to defend their title during the upcoming season.
Both the platform and the team share the same belief: perseverance and tenacity make champions. Anyone who is inspired by the desire to win, who believes in themselves and never gives up, deserves a reward, and loyal MelBet fans know this better than anyone. As part of the partnership, MelBet will become an integral part of the St. Lucia Kings team, supporting players and fans on their way to victory.
“We’re excited to enter the season with MelBet as our Principal Partner. Their reputation for turning every moment into an unforgettable experience is a perfect match for our team. We’re confident that this partnership will bring us the luck and success we need as we aim for another great season,” said Satish Menon, CEO of Saint Lucia Kings.
“We are absolutely delighted to welcome MelBet as our principal partner for the upcoming CPL Season 13. This partnership marks an exciting new chapter for the Saint Lucia Kings, and we are confident that MelBet’s passion for sports and commitment to excellence align perfectly with our own ambitions. We look forward to a successful season both on and off the field,” said Saurabh Arora, Chief Commercial Officer of Saint Lucia Kings.
The post MelBet Announces New Partnership with СPL 2024 Champion Saint Lucia Kings appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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