A main challenge encountered by clubs, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, was a drop in presence and income. The Macao Club, for example, has accumulated losses of $ 310 million, according to a report by the AFP news agency.
The average attendance of the Singapore Turf Club per racing day increased from 11,000 in 2010 to 6,000 in 2019. After the Pandemic of COVID-19, the attendance was 2,600 per day of racing.
John Lim, president of the Perak Turf Club, told the ACN that his attendance of around 700 people during the racing days was far from around 7,000 to his peak in the 1980s.
When he entered sport in 2007, the three lawn clubs in Malaysia were able to generate around 1 billion RM (232.6 million dollars) in revenue from Paris per year, he said.
These days, annual income fell to around 350 million RM, which LIM attributes to generalized illegal bets.
In Malaysian clubs, the minimum legitimate bet is RM5, but LIM has stressed that some illegal websites offer minimum RM4.20 bets.
“Much of Paris's income has gone to illegal operators. We cannot control the illegal betting market,” he said during a telephone interview.
Governments around the world impose taxes on betting to alleviate its negative social impact.
But illegal operators, regulations and taxes that bypass regulations and taxes can offer consumers of better chances, according to a report on the illegal Paris markets last year by the Asian racing federation.
The Federation includes 28 national racing authorities and organizations related to the race of all of Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.
Research estimated that around 80% of sports betting worldwide are illegally manufactured and the United Nations estimated in 2021, the total bet on each year can be up to 1.7 Billion of US dollars.
Lim said the Perak Turf Club was losing money, but had not disclosed figures.
“There is no reflection on the closure at the moment, but no business can survive if it loses continuous money. We just hope that it will happen,” he added.
“People should know that we lose money mainly because there is not enough income because of illegal bets. They must change this state of mind and support legitimate bets if they want sport to continue,” he added.
The reduction in illegal game and its appeal is however a difficult battle.
A regular bettor at the Selangor Turf Club showed AICN an unauthorized website offering slightly higher gains than the club and added: “These websites pay money in your account almost immediately.”
