The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is reviewing a weak start to the 2026/27 racing season after local betting turnover fell at five of the first six meetings. At Sha Tin on September 27, local wagering on the 11-race card dropped 11.5% year-on-year to HKD 1.359 billion ($174.7 million), according to the South China Morning Post.
The club said its customer base was similar to, or slightly ahead of, the same point last year, but head of racing product Greg Carpenter described average bet size across the first five fixtures as “definitely very soft.”
Competition for the Local Wager
The slowdown follows a strong 2025/26 season in which total racing turnover rose 3.6% to HKD 143.3 billion ($18.4 billion), driven mainly by overseas wagering. At home, Hong Kong shelved its plan to legalize basketball betting in April, saying it first wanted to see how prediction markets develop.
Illegal bookmakers remain a direct rival. In June, police arrested 150 people in a three-day operation against a syndicate accused of handling more than HKD 320 million ($40.8 million) in wagers. The HKJC has estimated that illegal basketball betting alone drew HKD 70 billion to HKD 90 billion ($9 billion to $11.6 billion) in 2024, from as many as 430,000 residents.
Offshore casino sites compete for the same gambling budget, if not the same bet. Bonuses at online casinos targeting Hong Kong are typically quoted in Hong Kong dollars, with first-deposit offers of HKD 1,000 to HKD 8,000 ($129 to 1,028)andminimumdepositsaslowasHKD100(13), while several sites also accept USDT and other cryptocurrencies. Under Hong Kong law, betting with an unauthorized bookmaker is an offence wherever the bookmaker is based, punishable by a fine of up to HKD 50,000 ($6,400) and nine months in prison.
Smaller Fields and Softer Stakes
Chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said a team was looking into the reasons. He pointed first to field sizes. Some trainers have held horses back in the early-season heat, and the Celebration Cup drew nine runners compared with 14 a year earlier. The last race at Sha Tin took HKD 153 million (19.7million),againsttheroughlyHKD190million(24.4 million) such a race would normally attract. “If we have races with five horses or six horses, it doesn’t work,” he said.
He also cited a “cannibalisation effect” from the growing number of commingled and simulcast overseas races. The club has since added a six-up bet type for simulcast races, an extra six-up pool on the first six local races from October 11, and more double trio pools at designated simulcast meetings.
The HKJC, Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer, has said it needs to widen its customer base. Football overtook horse racing as its biggest source of turnover in 2021 and now accounts for more than half of all wagering.