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One of our guys is quoted too:
Excellent article on the Asian market Jeff.
Our resident devils advocate Spearmaster is quoted a number of time also. Congrats Spear!
:bigsmile:
Yeah, I meant one of our guys as in Spear.
LOL…
He was supposed to tell me when that was being published. I haven’t even read it yet!
Quote:(Lawrence) Wong, a U.S.-educated former Ford Motor Co. executive, estimates that the amount wagered on illegal gambling — both offshore operations and illegal games and sports-betting rings run by syndicates in Hong Kong — exceeds that generated by the club, which reported processing about $10 billion (U.S.) in wagers in 2003.Wong said betting exchanges — Web sites that allow individuals to wager against one another and pay only a small “handling fee” — have had an especially negative impact on the legal operations of the Jockey Club, which contributes sizable portions of its income to charities and philanthropic causes in the former British colony.
“The betting exchanges and all of those (others) are using the argument, ‘Hey it’s just a technology’ … but you’re stealing someone else’s product,” he said. “And in Hong Kong it’s worse. You tear away the social welfare safety net called charity. Is that fair?”
Notice there is no mention of the word “monopoly”, or the fact that they banned Internet gambling for the sole purpose of giving the Jockey Club time to set up its own operations. Even worse, no mention of “morals”.
Did the HK government consider that outside operations were perfectly happy to pay tax equal to that of the Jockey Club? Of course not.
Did the HK government consider that the Jockey Club was perhaps not expert enough in this field to undertake such an operation? Of course not.
You can safely ignore anything the HKJC or the Government has to say on this issue – because it is only for the sake of saving face.
Quote:London-based bookmaker Ladbrokes, another major player in Asia, declined to discuss the politically sensitive issue.“We don’t really want to talk about our other business right now. We choose not to,” said Antonia Sharpe, a spokeswoman for the company, the wagering and gambling division of the hotel giant Hilton Group.
Predictable… they are already blocked in Hong Kong and Thailand because they chose not to listen to local advice.
Quote:“Asians, especially the Chinese are very insular and they stick to themselves,” said Angela Ho. “… They prefer to be playing with their own ethnic background rather than an outsider if there is a choice.”100% right – and this definitely applies to Koreans and Japanese as well. But a lot of operators out there think they know better, even after seeking advice, so they go and make a hash of it and then complain that the Asian gambling industry is not what it’s made out to be.
In fact, it’s true. The Asian gambling industry is not what it’s made out to be (huge by most estimates) – it’s bigger than huge can possibly describe. But it takes time to crack this market, and it has to be done in accordance with their own traditions and languages – and with their own kind fronting it if possible.
Quote:(Peter) Kjaer, her husband, also said that Asian gamblers generally don’t trust machine games, such as slots and video poker, which is why DrHo888.com features live video of employees dealing cards, rolling dice and the like.This is debatable. With regards to the Chinese, he’s mostly right – but only because the act of gambling is considered to be one of face. In reality, the Asians are perfectly happy to be playing machines – especially in their own homes if they are not into the public scene. The Japanese and Koreans mostly play machines… pachinko and pachi-slot – so there is not any major fear or mistrust of machine games.
Quote:“The frightening thing is all of us are just scratching the surface,” said (Simon) Noble (of BetWWTS).That is probably the most accurate quote of all.
