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Betfair has confirmed that it will offer exchange betting on all Hong Kong race meetings from the start of the new season on September 1, becoming the first corporate operator licensed in Australia to challenge the Hong Kong Jockey Club's intellectual property rights.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is concerned the Betfair move could lead to market manipulation by giving punters the opportunity to lay horses to lose.
"Betfair Australia's announcement that it intends to offer wagering on Hong Kong racing has been made without any consultation with the club and is without our permission," HKJC executive director of customer and international business development Richard Cheung Che-kit said in a statement.
"It is disappointing that a listed company does not respect our intellectual property rights."
Betfair Australia chief executive Tim Moore-Barton said Australian punters were betting on Hong Kong races through unregulated operators in offshore locations.
"For a number of years Betfair has respected the views of the Hong Kong Jockey Club which was to only have totalisator betting on their product and therefore we did not offer the product on the Betfair betting exchange," Moore-Barton said.
"However with current online in-play restrictions under the Interactive Gambling Act and the introduction of Point of Consumption taxes in Australia, we saw the need to stop the flow of Australian customers moving their activity offshore to illegal exchanges.
"The impact of Australian POC taxes and the prohibition of online in-play betting under the IGA are the two biggest impediments to keeping Australian customers from betting onshore.
"Hong Kong racing is something our punters have wanted for years. We're excited about it as we think the exchange is the best model out there and we can't wait to see how it goes."
Betfair Australia, owned by Crown Resorts, allows its clients to back horses to win or lay horses to lose at a cost of 6 percent commission. In running betting and a starting price option with no commission will also be offered on Hong Kong racing.
Moore-Barton said Betfair is proud of the transparency systems it has in place with Australian stewards and points to the BetMon facility at Flemington as an example of its commitment.
Located in the stewards control room, BetMon is a live alert monitor developed by Betfair that gives stewards real-time access to all betting transactions.
"That level of transparency is what racing bodies need and want." Moore-Barton said.
"Nearly every racing body in Australia and others globally that have access to the integrity tools we provide say it's a key part of piecing together the big picture in their fight to keep the sport clean."
