Abstract
This study investigates the nature and behaviour of illegal gamblers in Hong Kong. A face-to-face street survey of 512 gamblers was conducted in Hong Kong between September and December 2015 with supplementary convenience sampling allowing for analysis of a total sample of 103 illegal gamblers. 56% of illegal gamblers recorded results consistent with this study’s definition of ‘excessive gambling’ [i.e. moderate risk and problem gamblers under the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)]. 81% of surveyed illegal gamblers were male, 77% were aged between 30 and 49 and 67% were in blue collar occupations. Illegal gamblers bet more frequently on both legal and illegal games than their legal counterparts and spent more when they did bet. While this research did not indicate the direction of causality between illegal and excessive gambling, international work (de Bruin et al. in verslingerd aan meer dan een spel: Een onderzoek naar de aard en omvang van kansspelproblematiek in Nederland, WODC/CVO, Utrecht, http://www.lexandgaming.eu/nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Verslingerd-aan-meer-dan-een-spel.pdf, 2005; Binde in What are the most harmful forms of gambling? Analysing problem gambling prevalence surveys, http://www.utbildning.gu.se/digitalAssets/1327/1327132_cefos-wp12.pdf, 2011) suggests that excessive gamblers are drawn to illegal gambling. Reform could allow excessive gambling by illegal gamblers to be better addressed and initial work suggests some financial benefits to Hong Kong.
Highlights
Gambling is a regulated market in Hong Kong
A face-to-face street survey of 512 gamblers was conducted in Hong Kong between September and December 2015 with supplementary convenience sampling allowing for analysis of a total sample of 103 illegal gamblers. 56% of illegal gamblers recorded results consistent with this study’s definition of ‘excessive gambling’ [i.e. moderate risk and problem gamblers under the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)]. 81% of surveyed illegal gamblers were male, 77% were aged between 30 and 49 and 67% were in blue collar occupations
While this research did not indicate the direction of causality between illegal and excessive gambling, international work suggests that excessive gamblers are drawn to illegal gambling
Summary
Gambling is a regulated market in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is the only authorised gambling operator licensed by the Hong Kong government, offering gambling options such as horse race betting, football betting and a lottery. A substantial illegal market for gambling exists, estimated at HK$12 billion per annum (HKJC 2017). These funds flow to unlicensed operators in Hong Kong, offshore operators outside of Hong Kong (excluding Macau casinos) and online operators both inside and outside Hong Kong. The HK$12 billion in estimated illegal gambling revenues can be compared to the HK$36 billion in legal gambling revenues reported by the HKJC in 2015–2016 (HKJC 2016).
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