Research into sports betting in Mainland China shows that wagering on football (soccer) should be considered a skill game and not a game of luck due to proven consistency of results among bettors.
So said Wong Mei Key, an MBA scholar, during the 3rd Mastering Cotai Seminar at Wynn Palace on Friday.
According to Wong, the conclusions of the study indicate a new legal approach towards football betting should be considered, which could also impact sports betting opportunities in Macau – currently restricted due to Macau’s sole sports betting company, Macau Slot, holding a monopoly on sports betting.
“The Macau government should consider if sports betting can be put into the casinos, which can help in revenue and create a greater reason for visitors to visit our casinos also,” Wong said. Her research used extensive data from Taobao Lottery which suggested that, in the case of Macau, football betting could potentially be re-classifed and therefore removed from the sole jurisdiction of Macau Slot.
Notably, Wong’s research showed that success in football tends to come at a similar rate to playing the stock market.
The Mastering Cotai Seminar serves as a point of connection between the Integrated Resorts industry and the Macau academia. It gathers students from the Faculty of Business Administration of Macau University whose papers — part of their Master Degree studies — relate to the IR industry.
