Unclaimed Mark Six winnings raise snowball prize pool by more than 40pc compared to last year

The Hong Kong Jockey Club said Mark Six winners forgetting to claim their winnings this year resulted in an increased prize pool in the snowball draws by 46 percent.

According to the annual report released by the HKJC recently, the unclaimed Mark Six winnings - which were then added to the Snowball Pool - have increased the pool by HK$44 million, compared to the previous year's HK$30 million.

The unclaimed winnings have also reached record highs since 2020, with about HK$88 million left unclaimed that year.

Unclaimed horse racing winnings have also reached HK$37 million, a 48 percent increase compared to the previous year.

The HKJC gaming and lottery betting turnover for the year increased by 5.1 percent to HK$304.8 billion. The total gaming and lottery revenue set a new record at HK$16.6 billion, an increase of 0.8 percent compared to the 2021/22 season, while the total betting volume also reached a new high, increasing by 5.3 percent to HK$305.6 billion.

In terms of the Mark Six, the amount of bets also increased by 29 percent to HK$7.5 billion, which is still lower compared to the pre-pandemic level of HK$8.4 billion.