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HKJC:
…..live television coverage of all HKJC races and the opportunity to bet into HKJC’s pari-mutuel pools will be available across the USA through TVG which beams into 36 million homes.
TVG is the largest legal internet wagering provider for horse races in the US, accepting over US$875 million in wagers in 2013 via TVG’s website.
http://www.hkjc.com/english/corporate/r … 01900.html
SCMP:
..In contrast to arrangements in countries operating small, localised totalisator pools on Hong Kong races – independent of the Jockey Club’s operations – commingling is the process by which those bets placed overseas are then transferred into the "home" pools here to create a larger pool and to standardise dividends.
…"We expect that fresh, commingled turnover will be small to begin with, while people become familiar with our racing. But once this starts and grows interest, other betting operators there will start taking our racing as well and we are already in discussions with some of them."
One of the crucial factors for success will be providing information to help American fans to understand Hong Kong racing and Nader said the club had been working on that factor for some months.
"We have formed a link between Equibase, the official past performance database provider for North American racing, and our own database so performance histories can be distributed in a format that will be familiar to horse-racing players there," said Nader.
Commingling of bets on Hong Kong races has been in the works for most of the past decade, but government hurdles, both here and abroad, and ironing out the technical interface to funnel the bets between jurisdictions have been obstacles.
In that time, Nader explained, even the philosophy of the Jockey Club’s approach had changed.
"When we started looking at this in 2006-07 with the Las Vegas casinos, it was a different strategy and it just didn’t work," Nader said. "The only one we really got up and running was Foxwoods in Connecticut, and the time difference meant that a bricks-and-mortar location was no good. People had to be in casinos at some odd times to bet on or see the races."
modest start with bets of HKD 2.7m [GBP 200,000] from US on first day.
Alan Aitken, SCMP:
"We didn’t hear the "tallest oak tree grows from the smallest acorn" axiom get wheeled out after Sunday’s Sha Tin debut for commingling of bets, but it might have been, on an afternoon when the Ghosts Of Racing Yet To Come made their appearance….
…..The club is expecting the US commingled bets through TVG to double by the end of this month and there are discussions under way with two other major wagering operators, Xpressbet and Twin Spires.
….Singapore, Australia and New Zealand will be crucial comminglers when they come on board in the months ahead, given the familiarity of people there with the similar Hong Kong racing style and with many of the participants, human and equine.
At least the way forward for commingling now is a clear one – more operators, more access, more countries, so we can really see whether this idea has any legs in the real world. "
Alan Aitken, SCMP:
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….the Jockey Club steps up commingling with the United States this weekend.
The business through TVG on Hong Kong racing started at HK$2.7 million on day one in early April and has climbed to HK$5 million to HK$7 million a meeting [= GBP 385k – 540k], and the club welcomes a second American operator aboard this Sunday, Xpressbet.
There is confidence at Sports Road that the US market could grow to about HK$20 million a meeting next season [= GBP 1.5m ] , or about what Singapore holds on Hong Kong in its domestic-only pools.
Australia is still holding HK$9 million a day in domestic pools, although the market is getting crowded there – bets are now being taken by TABCorp on races in North and South America. A senior TAB executive said on radio that 24/7 betting opportunities for Aussie punters was within sight.
That Australian figure for Hong Kong might jump when commingling begins next season, but the Jockey Club still seems to feel that North America is where the "big" commingling boost lies and the American operators are keen to expand their portfolio of bet types, too.
When we say big, it doesn’t really mean Big with a capital B.
Obviously, in terms of HK$100 billion [ = GBP 7.7 billion, the estimated turnover on HK domestic racing for 2013/14] , this is small beer, but growing and certainly worth doing, and testimony to the appeal of the racing product here, which is relatively simple to understand and well regulated and policed.
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