Hong Kong Jockey Club Reviews Weak Start to 2026/27 Season as Local Betting Turnover Falls at Five of First Six Meetings

The Hong Kong Jockey Club is digging into an early-season drop in local wagering after turnover fell at five of the first six meetings in 2026/27. For payment providers and gambling operators watching Hong Kong, the message is not subtle: the local wallet is under pressure, and offshore competition is eating into the same betting budget.

1. At Sha Tin on September 27, local wagering on the 11-race card fell 11.5% year-on-year to HKD 1.359 billion ($174.7 million), according to the South China Morning Post. The club said its customer base was similar to, or slightly ahead of, the same point last year, but head of racing product Greg Carpenter said average bet size across the first five fixtures was “definitely very soft.”
2. The slump comes after a strong 2025/26 season, when total racing turnover rose 3.6% to HKD 143.3 billion ($18.4 billion), with overseas wagering doing most of the work. At home, Hong Kong shelved its plan to legalize basketball betting in April, saying it first wanted to see how prediction markets develop.
3. Illegal bookmakers are still a direct competitor. In June, police arrested 150 people in a three-day operation against a syndicate accused of handling more than HKD 320 million ($40.8 million) in wagers. The HKJC has estimated that illegal basketball betting alone drew HKD 70 billion to HKD 90 billion ($9 billion to $11.6 billion) in 2024, from as many as 430,000 residents.
4. Offshore casino sites are also competing for the same gambling spend. Bonuses at online casinos targeting Hong Kong are typically quoted in Hong Kong dollars, with first-deposit offers of HKD 1,000 to HKD 8,000 ($129 to 1,028) and minimum deposits as low as HKD 100 ($13), while several sites also accept USDT and other cryptocurrencies.
5. HKJC chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said a team was looking into the reasons behind the softer start. He pointed first to field sizes: some trainers have held horses back in the early-season heat, the Celebration Cup drew nine runners versus 14 a year earlier, and the last race at Sha Tin took HKD 153 million ($19.7 million) versus roughly HKD 190 million ($24.4 million) for a more normal comparable race. “If we have races with five horses or six horses, it doesn’t work,” he said.

Engelbrecht-Bresges also pointed to a “cannibalisation effect” from the growing number of commingled and simulcast overseas races. In response, the club has added a six-up bet type for simulcast races, an extra six-up pool on the first six local races from October 11, and more double trio pools at designated simulcast meetings. The bigger strategic point is that HKJC needs to widen its customer base: football overtook horse racing as its biggest source of turnover in 2021 and now accounts for more than half of all wagering.