My Take | No guaranteed win when it comes to legalised gambling on sport

The long-awaited opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park on Saturday is a landmark for Hong Kong, boosting the city’s ability to stage “mega-events” and help grow the economy. But with a deficit of HK$87.2 billion, sport might be able to help fill the government’s coffers in other ways.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po confirmed in his budget speech that the government will explore legalising betting on basketball matches. The move, which would add basketball to horse racing and football as sports that bets can be placed on with the city’s only legal bookmaker, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, was presented as a means of combating illegal gambling. But the tax revenue it would generate, estimated to reach HK$1.5 billion a year in time, would no doubt come in handy.

There is a need to curb criminal gambling syndicates, which the club estimates received a staggering HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion last year.

The club believes 100,000-150,000 gamblers used illicit bookies to place wagers on basketball last year. It expects to divert at least 30 to 40 per cent of the revenue to its own channels.

This would result in more tax revenue and extra funding for charitable causes supported by the club, which said the move is “a matter of public interest”. But the proposal has reignited debate about the negative impact of gambling on society – and rightly so.

The Lancet medical journal concluded last year that gambling is a “growing worldwide threat” requiring concerted action. It estimated there are 80 million problem gamblers globally.

Many of us, myself included, occasionally enjoy a low-stakes flutter for fun. But an anonymous teenage punter quoted in the Lancet report had a valid point about bookies generally. He said: “No matter how you think you can outsmart the thing, they’ve still won …”