Hong Kong - Anti-gambling protestors forced their way into a
meeting of lawmakers Friday, demanding a decision to allow an extra
five horse races a season be overturned.
The group claims the extra race meetings will encourage more
people to gamble in the city of 7 million which in turn will put
families at risk.
The protestors had gathered outside government buildings where a
debate on the issue was being held.
At one point a small group chanting slogans managed to force its
way into the building, briefly disrupting the meeting.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which organizes the city's world-famous
races, was given permission early this month by the government to add
five race days and 15 telecasts of overseas races for people to bet
on.
The decision to allow the extra races came after the global
financial crisis brought about a fall in gambling revenue with the
total turnover for the 78 race meetings held in the recent season
dropping by 110 million dollars to 8.6 billion US dollars.
However, on Friday legislators on the Home Affairs Panel called on
the government to shelve the decision and accused the Jockey Club of
lying about the number of jobs the new races would create.
But the motion was narrowly rejected after the government promised
to look into the figures.
Betting revenue from the twice-weekly horse races in gambling-mad
Hong Kong is one of the key sources of tax revenue for the former
British colony's government.
Horse races, along with betting on soccer matches through the Hong
Kong Jockey Club and a weekly government-run lottery, are the only
legal forms of gambling.
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