CLAIMS TO FAME
- Driving force behind the modernization and revitalization of The HKJC
- Has helped The HKJC become Hong Kong’s biggest employer
- Has expanded global reach via commingling
Of all the gambling enterprises in Asia, it was the Hong Kong Jockey Club that stared down the pandemic with care and aplomb, recovering quickly from punter lockouts and retail suspensions to move back to familiar territory: record metrics and packed stadiums.
And in terms of those metrics, the 2022/23 racing year has been another extraordinary effort from Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges and his team. Record wagering and lottery revenue (HK$16.6 billion), record turnover (HK$305.6 billion, up 5.3%), record remittance to the Hong Kong community (HK$35.9 billion) and growth in all key racing and sports betting columns.
No less notable is the Jockey Club’s reversal of misfortune in its investment portfolios, which are back in the black to the tune of billions of Hong Kong dollars.
Engelbrecht-Bresges noted in his annual report commentary that the Club remains committed to investment in information technology and digitization, enhancing football betting revenue through the Club’s Customer Information and Wagering System, and advancing coordination with other markets.
All in all, a remarkable achievement in testing times, a stunning cross section of the power of the Hong Kong market, and a compliance record the envy of gambling segments the world over. The Club, more than any other operator, has cultivated and mined the sweet spot between market demand and excellence in governance.
But 2023 also delivered a gut punch that cannot be overlooked. The government’s decision to slap a Special Football Betting Duty on the Jockey Club early in 2023, seemingly out of nowhere but in fact evidence of fiscal desperation, bodes poorly for the city.
In his annual report, with trusty candour, Engelbrecht-Bresges characterized the extra HK$12 billion in duty over five years as worth opposing and a threat to revenue in an already punishingly taxed segment. But it is also a “time-limited measure”, and he expressed gratitude to Hong Kong’s financial secretary for his “understanding” that a permanent measure “would have been detrimental to our ability to compete with the illegal market and thereby to sustain our investment in support of Hong Kong.”
Perhaps the government had noted that the Club has flourished for years despite encroaching operations of criminal groups, and thought an extra tax wouldn’t make a difference. Or perhaps not. Either way, the Club is finally facing a potentially existential challenge of interference from a Hong Kong government that has damaged industry prospects across the board.
The key question now is not how much business is lost because of underground rivals, but how one defends a business – especially one that is non-profit – from an administration that is no longer business-friendly.
Make no mistake. If China were to stop flirting with the possibility and actually liberalize wagering on horse racing for domestic audiences, Engelbrecht-Bresges would shoot to No. 1 on the Power 50. As things stand now, the Club’s business will continue to grow, but it will also be watching its back. It is tempting to say we might be witnessing the start of Engelbrecht-Bresges’ greatest challenge for the rest of his time in Hong Kong.
For the full list of 2023 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
