Preliminary indications are that if the intention is to invite the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club to operate a legal system through its network of off-course betting centres on the basis of a separate tote for bets placed in Hong Kong on the Macao Canidrome racing results, the practical problems, insofar as the Jockey Club is concerned, are not insurmountable. In fact, such arrangement would present further opportunity to make fuller use of the Jockey Club's existing off-course betting facilities and services,
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The problems are, however, mainly political and financial, social and moral. To ensure that off-course betting on greyhound racing could be operated smoothly, it is imperative that close co-operation of the Macao government and the Macao Canidrome Company Limited be obtained. This would require agreement between the Macao Government and Hong Kong Govern- ment as well as between the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Macao Canidrome. Even given the will to reach such a multi- lateral agreement on the part of all concerned, the process will inevitably be a protracted and time consuming one.
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If there are substances in the allegations that certain officials of the Macao Canidrome are closely involved with the illegal operators in Hong Kong, it is doubtful if the Canidrome would be prepared to agree to the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club operating a separate tote on dog racing without demanding a substantial commission on turnover. Even with the payment of such commission, there is no guarantee that greyhound racing will be conducted in the same professional manner as horse racing is in Hong Kong. There have been allegations of grave malpractices such as doping, fixing of results and last-minute substitutions.
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Special consideration will have to be paid to the detailed financial arrangements, lest an excessive payment from legal betting into the coffer of the two Governments, and the Macao Canidrome and the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club may reduce the amounts of dividends likely to be made available to the punters to such an extent as to make them hardly competitive with those offered by illegal bookmakers (who pay no tax nor commission and little overheads). To solve these complex diplomatic, adminis- trative and financial problems will involve extremely complicated and protracted negotiations between all concerned and this is likely to be a colossal task. The issue is further complicated in- that lengthy preliminary negotiations are essential to any policy decision in this matter, because, before the viability of legalised
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