UK players who place their bets on horse racing events in the country will now be given the chance to bet into the popular betting pools of Hong Kong. This will be possible thanks to the first-ever partnership agreement between the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) and the bookmaker The Tote, which is owned and run by Betfred.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club revealed that the agreement with the UK-based sports betting operators is expected to be officially finalised in the upcoming months.
The Executive Director of the Customer and Marketing operations at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Richard Cheung commented on the deal, saying that it was a great privilege for the HKJC to welcome the UK to its expanding list of collaborating jurisdictions, especially considering the fact that Great Britain had a “tremendous legacy” in the horse racing industry.
Mr. Cheung also added that a large number of former British horses were taking part in Hong Kong races. In his opinion, the agreement allowing UK players to place bets in the betting pools of Hong Kong would result in bringing in “tremendous liquidity” in the local pools. He shared that the races organised by the Hong Kong Racing Club were expected to be found attractive by UK punters. One of the racing events that could turn out to be very appealing to them is the Longines Hong Kong International Races, which is to take place on December 11th.
As part of the deal, three of the largest betting shops and online operators in the UK including Ladbrokes, Coral and Betfred, will be given the opportunity to offer their customers the tote pools of the HKJC. Currently, the pari-mutuel tote pools of Hong Kong are the world’s largest ones.
Under the terms of the agreement, players will not be allowed to use fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). However, both their in-shop and online bets will be accepted by the above-mentioned sports betting operators. The live footage of Hong Kong races will be distributed by SIS to the UK bookmakers.
The co-mingling director of HKJC George Irvine commented on the deal, saying that the agreement would help the Hong Kong Jockey Club to reach a great number of racing fans, offering it a direct access to a great high-street presence in the UK regulated market. Thanks to the partnership agreement with three of the biggest and most reputable British bookies, Hong Kong racing would become available to customers in thousands of retail betting shops.
- Author
Olivia Cole
