Asian betting industry worth US$100 billion in 2004

Online gaming is still a legal grey area in most Asian countries except Hong Kong, where legislation forbids punters to bet with anyone except the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

However, that appears to be changing, as underground bookies in Asia increasingly look outside the region for online gambling licenses, big gaming companies are urging Asian governments to fully legalize Internet betting.


‘The Asian betting industry rakes in about US$100 billion annually, 80 percent of which comes from illegal transactions. The illegal market is a hundred thousand times bigger than the existing legal market. From a governmental point of view, and I think if you spoke to authorities, it is a nightmare to manage,’ claims BetFair Asia, Managing Director, Tim Levene.


Asian governments are showing increasing signs that they are prepared to relax their anti-gambling attitudes, with Thailand and even Singapore's conservative government considering allowing casinos on their territories.


Currently, the Cagayan Economic Zone in the Philippines is the only jurisdiction in Asia that is allowed to publicly issue ‘interactive gaming licences’. But because the legislation is still new, it has not yet begun granting licences.


Pro-gaming advocates argue that if governments do not start regulating the market soon, they will continue to lose out on tax revenue while doing little to control the explosive growth of underground sports betting.


For example, the ongoing European football championships are pulling in twice as much in underground betting revenues as the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. And on an average weekend during the European soccer season, the eight or nine major underground bookies in Asia make about $US150 million each.


‘Underground bookies in Asia are voluntarily seeking government regulation by trying to acquire licenses to set up gaming websites. Because its not been legalized across most of Asia, these bookies will turn to Antigua, Costa Rica and Curacao for their licenses,’ warns Tom Hall president of gaming consultancy firm Playtech’s Asia Pacific division.

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