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Record turnover at Happy Valley for Hong Kong racing’s season finale
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Hong Kong’s “season like no other” ended at Happy Valley on Wednesday 15th July with turnover of HK$1.6 billion (£160 million), a record for a fixture at the iconic city-side venue.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club navigated the uncertainty of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic decisively, implementing measures that protected public and employee health, and enabled the sport to continue; and also managed issues related to demonstrations in the city, which caused significant traffic disruptions to customers and staff, and which had a significant impact on attendance.
Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, commented: “While we recognise that the Coronavirus situation is an ongoing battle, and we must remain vigilant, I can say that it has been heartening to see the Hong Kong community pull together and play a crucial part in combatting its effects; the Hong Kong Jockey Club has been quick to reflect and enact those safeguarding measures and policies while continuing to race.
“We are pleased to have been able to complete a full season but of course our prime focus throughout, and a real challenge, was to act responsibly to protect the public health and safety of our staff, customers and the wider community, at every turn, while at the same time balancing that with the desire for our sport to continue.”
Turnover and contributions
Hong Kong’s total racing turnover in the 2019/20 season was HK$121.6 billion (£12.2 billion) which was down only 2.6 percent on the previous season and was still the third-highest ever despite COVID-19 placing severe pressure on domestic wagering in Hong Kong.
The turnover on Hong Kong racing by Hong Kong customers understandably declined by 8.3 percent due to the effects of the Club’s 100 OCCBs (off-course betting branches) being closed or operating on reduced opening from early February, and fans unable to attend the racecourse for almost half the season.
Turnover dipped by almost 26 percent in early February but wagering rallied through the later part of the season and climaxed with Happy Valley’s record turnover at the finale fixture. The impacts on OCBBs necessitated a change and resulted in the Club helping customers migrate online.
There were further positives as total commingling turnover increased to a record HK$23.58 billion (£2.36 billion), up 25.3 percent on last season; and Hong Kong racing fans continued to show a growing interest in the sport overseas, as evidenced in the 12.9 percent increase in the Club’s simulcast turnover.
Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “Our overall season’s racing turnover of more than HK$121 billion is pleasing in light of the significant challenges as it only reduced by 2.6 percent. Commingling continues to be a huge growth area for the Club.”
Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges noted the “strategic value of commingling,” in which people from around the world participate and bet on Hong Kong racing, and observed that the figures show the global appeal and growing interest in Hong Kong racing around the world.
“We are pleased with how popular our simulcasts are with Hong Kong customers and we are keen to do more,” he said.
“Furthermore, we are pleased with how much interest our customers have in our simulcast programmes from the leading race meetings around the world. We saw this even more in the second World Pool at Royal Ascot, which proved a huge success – with individual race turnover up by more than 49 percent on 2019 – and we look forward to expanding the World Pool concept next season, with Hong Kong as a vital hub for global wagering.”
The Hong Kong Jockey Club runs racing with a core purpose being the betterment of society as a whole; the Club is the city’s largest tax payer and this racing season alone has paid HK$12.113 billion (£1.21 billion) to the Hong Kong government, while a significant contribution, including special emergency COVID-19 funding support, has been paid in charitable contributions to a wide range of causes.
Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “There was a compelling public interest element to our desire to continue racing through COVID-19, from Chinese New Year to the end of the season, during which time our tax contribution from racing was more than HK$6.2 billion (£620 million). This has enabled us to not only keep donations at last year’s level but also increase it due to our contributions via the COVID-19 Emergency Fund.
“We are incredibly proud that the Club could continue to make such a contribution and, the benefits of completing a full season will be felt by millions of people across Hong Kong over the coming months.”
The CEO praised the resilience of the Hong Kong community and thanked racing fans, owners, Club members, horsemen, the media, and Club staff in particular, for their patience, dedication and efforts in ensuring the 2019/20 racing season was able to continue in safety.
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Record turnover at Happy Valley for Hong Kong racing’s season finale
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Gainr.ai today announced the acquisition of JanusDeFi, a research-led institutional DeFi infrastructure company specialising in AI-powered stablecoin engineering and tokenomics design. The move brings the JanusDeFi team, led by Dr Stylianos Kampakis, one of the earliest academic researchers in tokenomics, into the Gainr ecosystem as part of its expanding decentralised finance architecture.
The acquisition strengthens Gainr’s technical and research capabilities, integrates JanusDeFi’s AI-driven Stablecoin Factory into the Gainr Protocol, and supports the Gainr token pre-sale in early 2026.
Theo Koumis, Founder and CEO of Gainr.ai, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Dr Kampakis and the JanusDeFi team into Gainr. Their expertise in institutional tokenomics and AI-based stablecoin systems perfectly complements our mission to create a smarter, more transparent, and data-led financial ecosystem. This acquisition accelerates our ability to deliver innovative, compliant, and sustainable solutions for decentralised finance.”
Dr Stylianos Kampakis, CEO of JanusDeFi, added: “Joining Gainr allows us to scale our vision faster and with greater impact. We’ve spent years researching how AI can optimise financial systems, from stablecoin mechanisms to governance modelling. Within the Gainr ecosystem, those ideas can now move from lab to market. It’s a natural alignment of innovation, trust, and long-term purpose.”
Dr Kampakis is a PhD graduate from University College London, MSc from the University of Edinburgh, and advisor to the London Business School’s Data Science Department and will continue to lead on AI tokenomics strategy and institutional integration within Gainr’s expanded R&D division.
This acquisition advances Gainr’s roadmap to build a fully integrated decentralised ecosystem of combining AI, DeFi, and real-world asset infrastructure to deliver scalable, data-driven stability solutions.
The post Gainr Acquires JanusDeFi to Power AI Stablecoin Factory and Protocol Tokenomics appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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UniPin, the leading digital entertainment enabler in Southeast Asia and India, hosted a seminar in Seoul titled “Expanding Beyond Borders: Real-Life Insights to Grow Your Business in SEA & India” on October 23 in Gangnam, South Korea. The event brought together over 50 professionals from Korea’s gaming and digital content industries, offering direct, data-backed insights into two of the fastest-growing gaming markets in the world.
As the market leader with over a decade of operational experience across 34+ countries, UniPin shared real-time market knowledge and actionable insights to help Korean game publishers understand the unique dynamics of Southeast Asia and India, from player behavior and cultural preferences to monetization and payment ecosystems.
The Market Trends & User Insights session highlighted the rapid rise of Southeast Asia’s mobile-first audience and India’s expanding gaming economy. Drawing from real market experience, UniPin shared practical strategies to help publishers localize, engage players, and drive sustainable growth across both regions.
In the Marketing & Payment Systems session, UniPin showcased its deep expertise in community-driven marketing and payment solutions, demonstrating how its integrated ecosystem and strong local presence enable global publishers to enter and scale effectively in these high-potential markets.
“Our goal is to help global partners expand with clarity and confidence,” stated by Ashadi, Group CEO of UniPin. “We’re here to share real-world insights, not just data, and empower our partners with the connections they need to grow beyond borders sustainably, authentically and cooperatively.”
The seminar concluded with an open networking session where attendees connected directly with UniPin’s regional experts. “Many participants praised the event as a valuable platform that bridged the gap between Korea’s creative gaming ecosystem and the opportunities in Southeast Asia and India,” explained by Poeti Fatima, GM of UniPin Business Group.
Through initiatives like this, UniPin reaffirms its commitment to empowering global game publishers with the tools, knowledge, and local partnerships needed to thrive in two of the world’s most dynamic gaming regions.
The post UniPin Empowers Korean Game Publishers to Expand into Southeast Asia and India appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Wazdan, the gain-focused developer, has launched its latest network promotion instalment with Halloween Mystery Drop, offering a staggering €6,000,000 prize pool.
Running from 24th October to 2nd November, the enriched promotional campaign gets operators’ players in the spooky spirit with the supplier’s iconic Mystery Drop mechanic playing a starring role.
In a stylish gameplay upgrade, the seamless bonus system can randomly award players with a special screen that presents a choice of 9 mystery boxes, each revealing an instant cash reward.
Offering its partners’ player bases fresh ways to engage with their favourite Wazdan titles, which are live in over 30 regulated markets, the stylish campaign will also feature special Christmas and Valentine’s.
The second and third phases are set to incorporate the retention-proven Mystery Multiplier Drop mechanic, which sees additional awards being granted based on the player’s bet multiplied by a random number, further boosting the chance of strong win potential.
The latest move from Wazdan highlights its ability to captivate players globally through seamless, intriguing gameplay enhancements to its award-winning slot portfolio.
Andrzej Hyla, Chief Commercial Officer at Wazdan, said: “At Wazdan, we are always looking for creative ways to help our partners boost player engagement, and our Halloween Mystery Drop kickstarts our latest endeavour.
“With €6,000,000 in prizes and a selection of our industry-proven mechanics returning for three major seasonal events, we are ensuring that operators can deliver thrilling, retention-focused experiences right through to the new year. It is an exciting way to celebrate 2025 and keep momentum high into 2026.”
The post Wazdan launches €6,000,000 Network Promotion with Halloween Mystery Drop™ appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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