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Hong Kong's Hopes for World Cup Betting Dashed22 March 2002HONG KONG – As reported by the Sing Tao: "Hopes of legalising football gambling in time for this summer's World Cup were finally killed off yesterday. "According to a report released yesterday by the Home Affairs Bureau, the public is divided on whether to regulate soccer betting. "The public consultation study, conducted from last June to October, showed that around 90per cent of the 7,000 written submissions and 83,000 signatures received were against the idea of legalising football gambling. "But three government-commissioned polls, conducted around the same period, revealed that up to 60 per cent of respondents supported the idea. "…The report on the consultation study and polls said the general public agreed soccer betting was widespread in Hong Kong and simply tightening legislation and stepping up police operations would not tackle the problem. But as far as legalising football gambling, the debate was more heated. "…A government source said annual revenue from soccer gambling could be between $300 million to $800 million. "`We need more time to assess carefully whether we should regulate soccer betting,' a Home Affairs Bureau spokesman added." |