Preface

The advance in Information Technology in the last two decades and the wide adoption of Internet usage in recent years have a profound effect on the landscape of betting, gaming, and horse racing industries; as such all countries are trying to find ways to confront such challenges and to embrace such unprecedented opportunities. Hong Kong has just passed its new law in May making it illegal to bet with overseas bookmakers via the telephone or Internet. Religious and moral watchdog groups applauded and supported the Government for making the right decision. On the other side of the coin, the bill has drawn wide-spread criticism from Hong Kong racehorse owners who own and race horses overseas and suddenly found they cannot place a bet on their horses when their horses run; from soccer fans who discovered that they cannot wager on the web whilst watching soccer matches, in particular the World Cup; and from citizens who feel the Government missed an opportunity to close the deficit gap by increasing revenue through soccer betting duties.

A check through the response to the Government Consultation Paper last year (http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr0001/english/bc/bc56/papers/bc56_ppr.htm) discovered that many interest groups did not, in fact, make a response during the consultation. The lack of any overwhelming response is not obvious either. It is unfair and unrealistic to rely on response from those not in the IT industry or not frequent users of the Internet to appreciate the fast pace of advancement in cyber space, particularly in the gambling arena. Neither did those in the IT industries realise that the gambling review affected the IT industry at >>