The Hong Kong Jockey Club has enhanced its wagering entertainment offerings ahead of the 2019/20 season, which will commence on Sunday, 1 September.

In a press briefing held at Sha Tin Racecourse today (Thursday, 29 August), Mr. Richard Cheung, Executive Director, Customer and International Business Development, said his team will continue to build on the successes of previous years and launch a series of initiatives on digital transformation of the customer experience, Racecourse & OCBB renovation, enhanced Priority Card Program and the continued development of commingling.

A. Digital Transformation of Customer Experience

In the upcoming season, racing fans will enjoy a number of new features on the HKJC mobile apps.

HKJC TV App
HKJC TV App will offer ‘Multi-Angled Cam’ to give all racing fans with betting account viewing of racing from multiple points, including the paddock, track entrance and inside the paddock, many of which are not available in the conventional TV program. This new feature will work hand-in-hand with the upgrade of live racing show streaming latency, which has been reduced significantly from 24 seconds to 8-10 seconds.

Racing Touch
The latency reduction will also apply to the live streaming of Racing Touch. The Racing Touch has gradually become a popular App for fans to prepare for and bet on races, with over 90,000+ active unique users per raceday. For example, customers are able to search and watch morning track work video clips by horse, which is a new feature not available on the HKJC website.

In the new season, other new features on Racing Touch will be available such as finger print log-on from September and simulcast betting at the beginning of 2020.

eWallet and FPS
In 2020, Classic 3-in-1 and Racing Touch will embed the ‘eWallet’  function, allowing racing fans to deposit, withdraw and place bets simply by showing the QR Code from their smartphones at both OCBBs and Racecourses. A 7 x24 instant funds transfer via Faster Payment System (FPS) will be available anytime and anywhere. Self-setup can be completed online instead of relying on a face-to-face process today. We are very glad to partner with Bank of China (HK) and Standard Chartered Bank as key partners on this FPS initiative.

B. Priority CARD – Yellow Tier

Our priority card program has been a successful offering for our loyal customers. A new yellow card tier has just been launched in August. Previously priority card was an invitation-only program, but going forward it will be a self-application program (www.priority.hkjc.com). Yellow card customers, once they accumulate enough points, can receive exclusive rewards and be promoted to higher card tiers.

C. Racecourse Masterplan & OCBB (Off-Course Betting Branches) Renovation

Happy Wednesday has become a lively and entertaining Hong Kong night attraction. To reinforce the proposition, two new venues, the Sponsors Box and the Parade Enclosure Suite, will open at Happy Valley Racecourse for the Club’s sponsors and Members to host their guests.

To ensure an improved wagering experience for the general public, the renovation of OCBB’s will continue. Three OCBBs located in Cheung Chau, Tai Wai and Hung Hom will complete their renovation in the new season.

D. Commingling Development

Commingling turnover continues to be a key growth driver generating HK$18.8 billion in season 2018/19, which represents a 15% increase on the previous season. The Club will aim to have more than 60 partners in the new season, up from 43 partners last season. New partners being discussed this season include France, US-NYRA, Denmark, Norway and many more.

This expansion highlights the high quality and integrity of the sport in Hong Kong and its attractiveness to overseas customers.

The innovative World Pool concept in Ascot will continue this season and we are in discussion with other leading racing organisations for a similar arrangement.

E. Jackpots for season opening

A mega prize of $28 million dollars will be on offer to mark the start of the new racing season at Sha Tin Racecourse this Sunday, 1 September, while, for the first Happy Valley night meeting held on 11 September (Wednesday), a total $20 million mega prize will be up for grabs.

All racegoers and customers must be aged 18 or above.

Attachment: Factsheet for the 2019/20 New Initiatives