China testing possible legalization of gambling on horses

All forms of gambling were made illegal in mainland China back in 1949, when the Communist Party took over the wheel of the country, but following the success of Macau gambling, the Chinese government is considering legalizing one form of gambling - horse racing bets. As reported by the China's news agency Xinhua, the city of Wuhan in Hubei province held a trial horse racing event Saturday in which spectators could bet on four races at the Orient Lucky City racecourse. Local spectators were allowed to place two bets for free and winners received 20 lottery tickets issued by the local sports lottery administration. According to Chinese officials, the horse racing event and the free bets were meant to test the track and the system for possible future legalization of horse racing gambling, which would allow people to place real-money bets a few times each week.

Horse racing is one of the most popular form of betting in the region, after soccer, and experts estimate that the tax benefits from re-legalizing horse racing gambling could easily reach billions of dollars. At this time there is no information when a real horse racing gambling event would be scheduled.

Published on 12/01/2008