Unregulated Cryptocurrency Bookmakers Are A Threat, Says Hong Kong Jockey Club Executive

The unregulated cryptocurrency bookmarkers are becoming a significant threat in the gambling world, said Hong Kong Jockey Club executive, Tom Chignell. He warns that such markets provide more room for race-fixing, and authorities should monitor and act accordingly.

Unregulated Cryptocurrency Bookmakers Pose A Threat

Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the oldest racing establishments in the country. Its executive manager of racing integrity and betting analysis, Tom Chignell, recently spoke about the current state of the industry. More specifically, he outlined illegal betting supposedly taking place on some unregulated cryptocurrency bookmakers:

“We’re looking at a new emerging but vastly expanding cryptocurrency market, with some website specializing on horse racing globally, not just in Hong Kong. They are actually offering fixed-odds betting across the globe.

They are not obliged to report suspicious betting and corruption to racing authorities. They are an emerging threat which we are closely monitoring.”

He also added that match-fixers prefer avoiding regulated establishments and search for other options.

Additionally, he believes that “trainers stopping horses from winning and betting on them to lose on the illegal market” is the most significant integrity threat in the industry.

Authorities Need To Step Up

Chignell noted that those unregulated markets require little-to-none verification processes. Therefore they open the door for illegal activities. He also said that such bookmakers do not have to report on any “suspicious betting, cheating, jockeys betting, breaches of the rules of racing.”

In Chignell’s opinion, the situation can improve only when local and global authorities raise their standards and requirements:

“The most essential [step] is to have a robust integrity function that must include bet monitoring and betting analysis, an active intelligence function … and having the ability to investigate and disrupt where appropriate.

With the active intelligence function, it’s got to have those confidential reporting channels, so those interested in keeping racing clean have the opportunity to report on corruption and suspicious activity.”

Douglas Robinson, another executive from Jockey Club, believes that local regulators might not be sufficient enough in this manner. While addressing the complex issue yesterday, he urged governments to take serious action, as well.