The venerable Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is being sued for failing to pay out on a sports bettor’s winning wager.
On Monday, the Hong Kong Standard reported on a Small Claims Tribunal hearing involving a bettor, Wan Chun-lun, who sued the HKJC for failing to pay out some HK$48,750 (US$6,210) in winnings and keeping his original HK$15k betting stakes due to an error in scoring an English Premier League (EPL) match.
The match in question happened on March 11 between Chelsea and Crystal Palace, and Wan took the ‘over’ on the HKJC’s line of 14.5 corner kicks during the match. There ended up being 15 corner kicks during the match, but the EPL website originally listed 14 kicks before correcting their error less than one hour later.
However, the HKJC claimed that it had begun paying out on the winning wagers half an hour before the EPL updated its info. Despite Wan’s pleas, the HKJC decided to stick to its rules, which state that the official decision will remain in effect regardless of whether the game results are subsequently amended by the respective sports authority.
Wan argued that there are justices of the peace to ensure accuracy in the HKJC’s popular Mark Six lottery draws, while a panel ensures fairness in horse racing results. But for football, the HKJC relies on website screen shots with no third-party confirmation.
The court will render its verdict on August 6, but the HKJC’s eagerness to maintain its rules in the face of a clear injustice doesn’t bode well for the local gambling monopoly’s credibility.
It’s not like they don’t have the money. Just last week, the HKJC announced that overall betting turnover in its 2017-18 racing season had risen 5.8% from 2016-17’s result to HK$124.2b and its total gross margin was up 6.3% to HK$5.5b.
The HKJC is notorious for complaining to anyone who will listen about internationally licensed online betting operators who dare to offer Hong Kong punters an online wagering alternative. The club’s primary argument revolves around how these sites don’t kick back to Hong Kong social causes, as well as foreign operators’ alleged ties to ‘blood crimes.’
But the HKJC also likes to claim that punters run the risk that these international sites won’t pay out when required. (Insert eyeroll emoji here.) The reality is that many of these Asian betting giants have been operating online longer than the HKJC, and the loyalty they’ve built up is based on punters’ belief that these sites will honor their obligations.
The HKJC’s football betting revenue has come to rival its mainstay racing operations in recent years, but a few more PR cockups like this and those international betting sites will start to look even more attractive.
