Preface

first sight. In particular trying to enforce a ban on the Internet would mean committing the Internet service providers to police their customers by vetting through the contents. Is this practical? Is this possible? Likewise we should not expect all participants in the horse racing industry to be aware of the effect of the growing Internet gambling challenge to their industry in Hong Kong, and very few of us realise that horse racing industry contributes 6.75% of government revenue in 2001/02.

The problem and opportunities brought on by the advancement of information technology especially through innovation using the Internet has affected everything and anything we do. But one of the industries affected most in this context is horse racing which forms the backbone of Hong Kong's leisure, entertainment, and charity services for the public. The Internet is the ideal e-commerce platform for gambling. It is because it delivers text, video and voice, information for enabling the placement of bets, delivery of results, and settlement of dividends, all transactions completed on the net without the need to leave one's door or to involve any logistics like other e-commerce applications. Again, for those who do not participate in international horse racing, it is difficult to know what goes on in other parts of the horse racing world, and how other horse racing clubs are responding to such threats and challenges.

Hence it is felt that additional research with wider representation, in particular from the current stakeholders of horse racing, will serve to give a more realistic all rounded view of the community.