• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Friday 30 May 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

China to allow horse racing, expand sports lotteries on Hainan

Ben Blaschke by Ben Blaschke
Sun 15 Apr 2018 at 12:16
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Chinese government has revealed plans to develop a horse racing industry and expand sports lotteries to boost tourism to the holiday island of Hainan.

According to a report by official news agency Xinhua, horse racing will be one of a number of activities promoted on Hainan alongside beach and water sports as part of a reform agenda approved by cabinet. Hainan would also “explore the development of sports lottery and instant lottery on large-scale international games.”

China already allows certain forms of sports betting operated by the government’s China Sports Lottery while a government-run lottery system is also widespread across the country.

It remains unclear exactly how an expanded sports lottery might work, however reports that the initiative might eventually lead to legal casinos in Hainan seem to be both unfounded and sensationalist, with multiple reports of impending casino legislation in Hainan over the years having amounted to nothing. Attempts by some Hainan hotels to launch small gaming operations were quickly shut down in 2013, while China made no secret of its stance when it arrested employees of Korean casino operators Paradise Group and Grand Korea Leisure in 2015 and Australia’s Crown Resorts in 2016 for promoting gambling on the mainland.

Macau-based analyst Grant Govertsen has also been quick to downplay the news, stating in a Sunday note that, “While various media outlets are trumpeting the ‘gaming’ aspects – as if the center point of this PRC policy is gaming – the reality is that the policy in no way approves anything remotely close to casinos, nor does it even suggest this is a future possibility. Rather, what was announced was a free port concept within a special economic zone.

“Buried inside an exhaustive list of policies, it suggests the development of horse racing – but importantly omits any references to wagering. It also recommends that the idea of an international-style lottery be studied, and we highlight that the lottery verbiage says ‘explore’ rather than ‘develop,’ which suggests that even a lottery isn’t a done deal.”

Govertsen also quashed wildly ambitious speculation – first prompted by a recent Bloomberg article pointing to the potential relaxing of rules around online gambling, lotteries and sports betting – about the future of casinos in Hainan.

“It is critical to keep in mind that gambling in all forms (other than a small lottery exception) is illegal within China,” he said. “As part of the anti-corruption campaign the government made it a point that officials shouldn’t even play mahjong given its gambling characteristics.

“While the government is encouraging the development of a horse racing industry in Hainan (as they have in other parts of China) they are not encouraging the concurrent development of a horse wagering industry. We therefore think the legalization of casinos within China remains highly unlikely.”

RelatedPosts

Robert Goldstein to step aside as LVS Chairman and CEO from March 2026, replaced by Patrick Dumont

Robert Goldstein: Macau gaming market challenged by increased competition, online gambling and US-Sino trade war

Fri 30 May 2025 at 06:42
Macau’s hotel occupancy rate reaches 89% in July

Macau’s hotel occupancy rate climbed to 87.8% in April

Thu 29 May 2025 at 17:27
On the brink

On the brink

Thu 29 May 2025 at 13:27
Macau GGR rises 43.7% year-on-year to MOP$86.86 billion in 2021

Moody’s maintains investment-grade rating for Macau as fiscal reserves climb to US$77 billion

Thu 29 May 2025 at 05:23
Load More
Tags: ChinaChina sports lotteryCrown ResortsGrand Korea LeisureGrant GovertsenHainanhorse racingMacauParadise GroupSouth Korea
Share1Share
Ben Blaschke

Ben Blaschke

A former sports journalist in Sydney, Australia, Ben has been Managing Editor of Inside Asian Gaming since early 2016. He played a leading role in developing and launching IAG Breakfast Briefing in April 2017 and oversees as well as being a key contributor to all of IAG’s editorial pursuits.

Current Issue

Editorial – Foreigner-only casinos: Seize the day

Editorial – Foreigner-only casinos: Seize the day

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 29 May 2025 at 13:38

I was recently asked by someone working at a foreigner-only casino for my thoughts on the outlook for the Asian...

On the brink

On the brink

by Pierce Chan
Thu 29 May 2025 at 13:27

The transition period for Macau’s 11 satellite casinos is set to expire at the end of this year, after which...

A moral defense of gambling

A moral defense of gambling

by Andrew Russell
Wed 28 May 2025 at 18:19

Economist Andrew Russell explores the differences between community benefit and in-principle arguments for the existence of a legal gambling industry...

Face to face

Face to face

by Ben Blaschke
Wed 28 May 2025 at 18:08

Konami caught the eye at the recent G2E Asia show in Macau with its SYNK Vision Tables, which utilize facial...

Evolution Asia
Aristocrat
GLI
Mindslot
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
Nustar
Jumbo

Related Posts

Robert Goldstein to step aside as LVS Chairman and CEO from March 2026, replaced by Patrick Dumont

Robert Goldstein: Macau gaming market challenged by increased competition, online gambling and US-Sino trade war

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 30 May 2025 at 06:42

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein has bemoaned the lingering impact of the US-China trade war, as well as increased domestic and regional competition and the rise of online gambling across Asia for sustained flatness in the...

Industry hopes Thai Entertainment Complex Roundtable can establish “common ground” with those opposing legal casinos

Industry hopes Thai Entertainment Complex Roundtable can establish “common ground” with those opposing legal casinos

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 30 May 2025 at 05:38

Industry figures taking part in the Thai Entertainment Complex Roundtable (TECR) next Thursday 5 June hope to find common ground with those who oppose Thailand’s Entertainment Complex Bill, citing the opportunity to use an evidence-based approach to achieve outcomes that...

Genting Malaysia misses 4Q24 estimates, slashes dividends as rising costs hurt profitability

Genting Malaysia reports US$613 million in Q1 revenue, impacted by lower VIP at Resorts World Genting

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 30 May 2025 at 05:23

Genting Malaysia reported a 6% decline in group-wide revenue to MYR2.60 billion (US$613 million) in the three months to 31 March 2025, including a 7% drop in revenue at flagship Malaysian property Resorts World Genting (RWG) to MYR1.62 billion (US$382...

Macau’s hotel occupancy rate reaches 89% in July

Macau’s hotel occupancy rate climbed to 87.8% in April

by Pierce Chan
Thu 29 May 2025 at 17:27

Macau’s average hotel occupancy rate rose by 4.7 percentage points year-on-year to 87.8% in April, with the number of guests increasing by 3.4% to 1.2 million. According to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), there were 147 hotel...



IAG

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • English