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After nearly 60 years of breaking a law in mainland China, the government took the first step to legalize horse racing betting. On Nov. 29, a public test event for Chinese spade horse racing was held in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in central China. Spectators could bet on two of the four races held at Orient Lucky City Racecourse. Betting was freely available, and the winner was given 20 instant lottery tickets by the Sports Lottery Bureau.
This is just a tentative approach to gambling territory legalized by the Chinese government, as all forms of gambling are still illegal under all official laws. The deputy director of the Wuhan Municipal Sports Administration told media that the race was held as a test for racetracks, betting rules and the administration.
"This test run is to prepare for an official event in the future," Wang said. "If approved, Chinese horse racing, including betting, will be upgraded to a regular event held once or twice a week."
Wang also told the media that although the Test race went smoothly, he would not speculate on when horse betting would become a regular and legal event. One experiment officials are conducting is that bettors who guess the winner of the horse race get a lottery ticket with a 60% chance of winning the prize worth $600.
Legal and systematic gambling is only allowed in two cities - Hong Kong and Macao - both under different administrative systems. Hong Kong is a major horse racing hub, and Macao is a casino haven that recently outperformed Las Vegas. Gambling has not been allowed anywhere in mainland China since the Communist government took power in 1949. 슬롯머신사이트
Wuhan has led a campaign to legalize horse racing and gambling since 2005. Jin Jun-won, from the Hubei Academy of Social Sciences, said building a nationwide betting network will help the horse racing industry create 3 million jobs. Annual income from lottery tickets is expected to reach a whopping 100 billion yuan, with the government raising an additional 40 billion yuan in tax revenue.