 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! |
Gaming News
Chinese Government to Decide on Soccer Betting12 March 2002CHINA – As reported by the China Daily: "The government will announce the long-awaited result of the public consultation on football (soccer) betting by the middle of the year, a top government source said yesterday. "…The outcome is long overdue after Secretary for Home Affairs W.K. Lam unveiled a consultation paper in June 2001, followed by a study on gambling behaviour three months later. "…`We are not too worried about the imminent 2002 World Cup since important football matches come one after one another, and we look at this issue from longer-term perspectives,' he added. "…But he doubted if legalization would generate as much as HK$20 billion (US$2,564,102,622) in revenue as estimated, for it may only yield a few hundred million dollars - a far cry to the HK$6 billion (US$769,230,783) gained from the proposed civil service pay cut. "…Even if the government wishes to regulate football gambling by legislation and suppresses related crimes, nobody may wish to be an operator if the tax charged is high. But if the tax is not high, there will not be a huge revenue for the Treasury…" |