Anti-gambling campaign kicks off as World Cup illegal betting set to net $40b

Illegal football betting turnover could reach HK$40 billion in the World Cup in Qatar in Hong Kong alone, according to experts.

This staggering figure was cited as Hong Kong authorities launched a campaign to tell of gambling-related problems - an effort timed for the World Cup that kicks off on Sunday.

A study by the Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime has found that illegal gambling syndicates are expanding their activities during the World Cup. They include aggressive marketing and promotions.

The regional council comprises racing-related organizations from across Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East and includes the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which takes bets on football.

The study found that unlicensed and unregulated gambling is growing fast, and among Hongkongers who join in illegal gambling more than 79 percent place bets through unlicensed websites.

Apart from marketing their websites through social media spam, syndicates also adopt a door-to-door marketing approach, offering odds higher than that of Jockey Club and allowing gamblers to "bet now, pay later" to lure people to create accounts on their websites.

The door-to-door approach includes putting leaflets in front of each flat at public housing estates and on car windshields.

Reporters from The Standard's sister paper Sing Tao Daily found such leaflets near the Jockey Club's betting branch in Tai Po, with texts including claims about "self-service, safe, protect your privacy," "betting odds at least 15 percent higher than the Jockey Club," and "Faster payment system."

For illegal bankers, creating gambling sites is relatively easy, with 73 percent of unlicensed operations built with existing software.

Some 24 percent of gambling websites provide options such as e-payment or cryptocurrency, the study also found, though over 60 percent are unlicensed.

Betting with cryptocurrency also raises concerns about difficulties in tracing transactions. In Hong Kong, some HK$29 billion was laundered through bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets from 2017 to 2021.

The federation estimates that illegal gambling turnover in Hong Kong is about to increase by 25 percent to HK$40 billion compared to HK$30 billion in the 2018 World Cup.

The Ping Wo Fund and the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau have launched the anti-gambling publicity campaign "Be the Wise Man of the Match!" to raise awareness of gambling-related problems and promote no-gambling messages during the World Cup period. The campaign consists of a range of district-level and territory-wide events and publicity activities from mid-November to mid-December, including a carnival, a football fun day, a mascot design contest, an exhibition at shopping malls, and a publicity truck touring the SAR to push the dangers of gambling addiction.

Four counseling and treatment centers will also extend service hours to handle messages on the Gambling Counselling Hotline (183-4633) and to respond to text messages.

A Caritas survey also indicates the number of people participating in online gambling has increased significantly amid the pandemic as people had fewer social activities.

The Felizberta Lo Padilla Tong School of Social Sciences under the Caritas Institute of Higher Education asked 18 gambling-addicted citizens and their families from 2021 to 2022 and found that family members' limited knowledge of gambling contributed to the increasing number of people participating in gambling.